The study investigated family types, parental income and gambling behaviour among undergraduates in Rivers State University, Port Harcourt, Rivers State. The designs for the study was ex-post-facto and correlational designs. Three research questions as well as three corresponding hypotheses were formulated and tested in the study. The population of the study comprised of all 35,362 undergraduate students in Rivers State University, Rivers State. A sample of 300 students were randomly selected using purposive sampling technique. Two instruments (questionnaires) were used for collecting data in the study. They included; Gambling Behaviour Scale (GBS) and Family Type Questionnaire (FTQ). Validity of the instruments were determined using experts in test and measurement. Cronbach Alpha was used in determining the reliability of the instrument with a reliability coefficient of 0.81 for “School Gambling Behaviour Scale (GBS)” and 0.74 for “Family Type Questionnaire” (FTQ). Mean, standard deviation and independent t-test were used in data analysis. From the analysis, the findings of the study showed nuclear family type (p=0.000<0.05), polygamous family type (p=0.000<0.05) and parental income (p=0.002<0.05) all had significant relationship with gambling behaviour among undergraduates in Rivers State University. Based on the findings, it was recommended among others that parents and care-givers irrespective of the type of family type they find operate should be mindful of the training they give their children by training them in ways that discourage gambling behaviour.
Keywords: gambling behaviour., nuclear family, parental income, polygamous family
