An exploratory study to young adults' motivations to gamble.

Abstract

This paper explores the motivations behind the young adults‟ continued participation in playing games of chance with a focus on the extrinsic aspect where social factors such as early exposure to gambling and positive reinforcement from one‟s immediate environment that in turn influence one‟s decision to gamble. The motivations to gamble are too complex to be isolated to a single biological trait or greed; instead, I posit that the meanings assigned to these gambling activities are largely similar to that of any other social activity. Adopting the Social Constructionist framework, I will explore how meanings accorded to the action of gambling, are constructed and negotiated, though interviews and participation observation sessions. The paper also examines how these individuals weigh out the balance between the perceived potential costs and benefits behind their decisions to gamble over extended time. Lastly, I seek to identify reasons for any preferences in the types of games participated by the young adults.