Gambling Amongst College Students, The Intersection of Occupational Balance And Financial Literacy: A Scoping Review

Gambling is a prevalent activity that is common among college students that is influenced by financial literacy levels. Financial literacy is important to making financial decisions and to keep a financial well-being. This scoping review explores the relationship between financial literacy and gambling behaviors amongst college students. Recurring themes, risks, and potential interventions have been identified. A scoping review was done using the Population Concept Context (PCC) framework and following guidelines from the Joanna Briggs Insitute (JBI). Studies dates from 2014-2025 and were focused on college students ages 18-25. A total of 36 studies met the inclusion area and 7 studies were included in the scoping review. Themes identified from data extraction were gender differences in gambling behavior, influence of risk perception and decision-making, the role of financial literacy in reducing gambling problems, and the impact of gambling on college students Quality of Life. Interventions that were found to reduce gambling behaviors include personalized normative feedback (PNF), financial education programs, cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), parental monitoring, and mindfulness- based interventions. It was found that college students with gambling behaviors are associated with risky decision-making, financial illiteracy, and social influences. Further research is needed to identify long-term outcomes of noted interventions and the role of occupational therapy practitioners.