Problem gambling in adolescence: Relationships with internet misuse, gaming abuse and emotional intelligence James D.A. Parker * , Robyn N. Taylor, Jennifer M. Eastabrook, Stacey L. Schell, Laura M. Wood Department of Psychology, Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada K9J 7B8 Received 9 November 2007; received in revised form 17 March 2008; accepted 25 March 2008 Available online 29 April 2008 Abstract Examined the relationship between emotional intelligence (EI) and several addiction-related behaviors (gambling, internet use, and video game playing) in two community-based samples of adolescents: 13–15 year olds (N = 209) and 16–18 year olds (N = 458). EI was measured using the youth version of the Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-i:YV; Bar-On & Parker, 2000), while the addiction- related behaviors were assessed using the Internet Addiction Questionnaire (IADQ; Young, 1998), the Problem Video Game Playing Scale (PVGS; Salguero & Moran, 2002), and the South Oaks Gambling Screen-Revised for Adolescents (SOGS-RA; Winters, Stinch- field, & Fulkerson, 1993). EI was found to be a moderate to strong predictor of addiction-related behaviors in both groups (parameter estimates were À.76 for the younger adolescents and À.56 for the older adolescents). Ó 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Adolescence; Gambling; Emotional intelligence 1. Introduction Despite the fact that many people perceive problem gam- bling to be an issue prevalent only in adults, recent research indicates that problem and pathological gambling pose seri- ous concerns among adolescents (Dickson, Derevensky, & Gupta, 2004). Like adult gambling, adolescent gambling has been linked with a number of negative outcomes includ- ing criminal behavior, poor academic achievement, school truancy (Stitt, Giacopassi, & Vandiver, 2000), financial problems, depression, suicide, deterioration of social rela- tionships (Messerlian, Derevensky, & Gupta, 2005), and substance abuse (Griffiths & Wood, 2000). The prevalence of problem gambling among adolescents has been shown to be 2–4 times that of adults. Recent Canadian studies con- ducted with large community samples have estimated that 4–8% of adolescents currently have a severe gambling prob- lem (Dickson et al., 2004). In addition, 10–15% of adoles- cents gamble excessively, making them vulnerable to the development of a more serious gambling problem (Dickson et al., 2004). While some researchers have argued that these prevalence rates may be overestimated (Derevensky, Gupta, & Winters, 2003; Ladouceur, Ferland, Poulin, Vit- aro, & Wiebe, 2005), there is ample evidence that gambling among adolescents has increased over the past two decades (Langhinrichsen-Rohling, Rohde, Seeley, & Rohling, 2004; Messerlian et al., 2005). One of the reasons that it is difficult to get a clear under- standing of the true nature of gambling problems in adoles- cents is the unique clinical picture. In adults, one of the central problems associated with increased gambling behaviors is financial: the individual is preoccupied with gambling, they gamble for increasing amounts of money, they may attempt to hide the financial implications of their behavior, and they may begin to gamble with both legal and illegal financial sources. In adolescent populations, however, the financial implications may be less impor- tant. With more limited financial resources and gambling 0191-8869/$ - see front matter Ó 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2008.03.018 * Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 705 748 1011x1283; fax: +1 705 748 1580. E-mail address: jparker@trentu.ca (J.D.A. Parker). www.elsevier.com/locate/paid Available online at www.sciencedirect.com Personality and Individual Differences 45 (2008) 174–180