Meliha Bijedic

Title : Psychosocial consequences of gambling in adolescents

Abstract:

Gambling is a widespread activity in Bosnia & Herzegovina, young people grow up in a context where gambling is very available, accessible and positively promoted. Although gambling is illegal for minors, many adolescents gamble   and   suffer from a wide range of gambling related harms, and this study sought to examine consequences of adolescent gambling. The aim was to test the intensity of various harmful psychosocial consequences, how often an adolescent is feeling bad about the way in which he or she is gambling, how often he or she has a gambling problem, whether he has given up on some of his free gambling activities, has hidden his gambling from family members. These behavioral factors associated with psychosocial consequences, was measured by the Canadian Adolescent Gambling Inventory, the only instrument developed speci?cally for use on adolescents. The data was collected on a convenience sample of 1036 students, from first to final grade of high school, vocational and vocational-technical high school programs. It was also assumed that most high school students gamble on sports betting, then the lottery games of chance and slot machine clubs, while other kinds are less common, and that there are differences in gambling activities considering age so that older adolescents gamble more intense and frequent. Gambling problems in adolescents have historically received less focus than other related disorders and only relatively recently has attention been focused on this issue. Future research needs to focus on understanding the longitudinal course of adolescent gambling in general and how gambling problems in adolescents develop and progress in all dimensions.

Biography:

Dr. Meliha Bijedic graduated from the Faculty of Defectology University of Tuzla (UNTZ) in March 2001, later in February 2002 she became a staff member in the same establishment. And in 2007. Obtained a Masters degree in social sciences, behavioral disorders area on the Education and Rehabilitation Faculty, University of Zagreb, Croatia. Then recived her PhD at the same faculty of the University of Zagreb in 2012. Since October 2012, she obtained the position of a Professor at the UNTZ and teaches vocational subjects such as the treatment of children and young people with behavioral disorders and prevention of such. She has participated in several scientific fields of special education and rehabilitation as well as social pedagogy, published a book, many scientific papers and actively participated in national and international symposia. She has participated in national and international scientific research projects.