Gambling involvement and drug use among adolescents

Psychosocial Factors Associated With Past Month Gambling Among Adolescents: Results From the 2016-2020 PRIDE Survey

The present study sought to identify psychosocial factors associated with recent gambling (gambling within the past 30 days). The 2016, 2018, and 2020 Parents' Institute for Drug Education (PRIDE) data sets were pooled and analyzed, consisting of 108,690 adolescents in 13 local public schools. A sizable percentage (13.1%) of adolescents reported gambling in the past 30 days. Multiple logistic regression analyses found differences based on demographic factors, previous substance use, and psychosocial factors. Adolescents at highest risk were male, non-White, in high school; sold drugs; and participated in violent activities in the past 30 days. The study also found worrying rates of substance use. Findings from the present study can inform harm reduction efforts, prevention messaging, and clinical interventions related to adolescent gambling.

Racial Associations Between Gambling and Suicidal Behaviors Among Black and White Adolescents and Young Adults

Purpose of Review

Suicide is the second leading cause of death among Black youth ages 10-19 years. Between 1991 and 2017, rates of suicide among Black youth have been increasing faster than rates among any other race/ethnic group. There are many factors that may explain this increase, with gambling being suggested as one such potential risk factor. This review examines the association between gambling and suicide behaviors, and how these associations may vary between Black and White youth and young adults. The current review examines these associations using data from the Missouri Family Study (MOFAM).

Recent Findings

Recent findings have revealed distinct patterns of substance use initiation and gambling behaviors between Black youth and White youth. While strong links between gambling and suicide behaviors have also been reported, whether the associations were consistent across race/ethnicity groups was not investigated, nor in these cross-sectional analyses was it possible to determine whether the gambling behaviors preceded or followed suicidality. Thus, there is a need to investigate whether there are differences in the associations of gambling and suicide behaviors at the race/ethnicity level in tandem with data that examine the sequence of the behaviors. The current report focuses on racial/ethnic differences using data that allow for sequencing the occurrence of the behaviors via the age of first gambling experience, and of first suicidal symptom, to better distinguish the nature of the association.

Summary

The current findings revealed that gambling initiation predicted suicide ideation among Black youth, while no significant association was found among White youth. This is of major public health concern, given the rising rates of suicide among Black youth, and the increased availability of gambling. The report did not find a link between gambling and suicide attempts. Culturally tailored interventions should be considered among schools, families, and clinicians/providers, to highlight the risk of adolescent gambling, particularly among Black youth.

Differential Probability Discounting Rates of Gamblers in an American Indian Population

Probability discounting, a subset of behavioral economic research, has a rich history of investigating choice behavior, especially as it pertains to risky decision making. Gambling involves both choice behavior and risky decision making which makes it an ideal behavior to investigate with discounting tasks. With proximity to a casino being one of the biggest risk factors, studies into the American Indian population have been a neglected population of study. Using outcome measures from a pre-scan probability discounting task, the current study equated the scan task to evaluate behavioral and neurobiological differences in gamblers vs. non-gamblers. Gamblers showed differences in behavioral tasks (lower discounting rates) but not in patterns of neural activation.

Traumatic brain injuries and problem gambling in youth: Evidence from a population-based study of secondary students in Ontario, Canada

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is characterized by a change in brain function after an external force or sudden movement to the head. TBI is associated with risk-taking, impulsivity, psychological distress, substance abuse, and violent crime. Previous studies have also linked problem gambling to TBI, but these studies have not controlled for possible confounding variables such as mental health problems and hazardous drinking which are also linked to TBI. This study examines the relationship between problem gambling and TBI among adolescents. Data were obtained from the 2011, 2013 and 2015 cycles of the OSDUHS, a biennial cross-sectional school-based study of children in grades 7 to 12 (N = 9,198). Logistic regression was used to estimate adjusted odds ratios (AOR) in controlled and uncontrolled analyses. Adjusting for sex and grade only, problem gambling was associated with a history of TBI (AOR = 2.8). This association remained significant after adjusting for hazardous drinking and suicidality (AOR = 2.0). In addition, problem gambling had a statistically significant relationship with being male (AOR = 4.7), hazardous drinking (AOR = 4.5), and suicidality (AOR = 3.1). This study provides further data to suggest a link between TBI and problem gambling. However, research is needed on the causal relationship between these variables and the potential implications for treatment and prevention.

Gambling in adolescence: a narrative review of the last 20 years

BACKGROUND

Gambling has increasingly become a problem in adolescence over the last 20 years. Previous research has failed to identify exactly the level of involvement of adolescents in gambling, yet a relevant presence of addictive behaviors was noticed.

OBJECTIVE

This narrative review highlights the implications of adolescent gambling, taking into consideration the main risk and protection factors aimed at limiting gambling activity, as well as the main links with the impulse-control disorder, addiction, and behavioral addiction.

METHODS

The review process was conducted through Medline, Scopus, Web of Science and Google Scholar search engines. The considered keywords were "Gambling" AND "Adolescence," "Behavioral addiction," AND "Adolescence." The articles related to gambling and adolescence in the last 20 years were included in compliance with inclusion and exclusion criteria, to perform a consistent analysis of the phenomenon and the related maintenance factors.

RESULTS

Starting from 1067 articles, 107 were selected to denote the main thematic areas involved in the gambling problem. The online search was completed on December 13, 2019.

CONCLUSIONS

The narrative review of literature can facilitate the analysis of gambling problems in adolescence, as the main studies in the last 20 years showed the complexity of the problem, the links between addiction, and the most effective methods of prevention and treatment.

Factors associated with youth gambling: longitudinal study among high school students

OBJECTIVES

Non-substance addictive behaviours such as problem gambling among the youth have been a growing public health concern. However, the knowledge on risk and protective factors associated with this relatively new problem is still limited. It inhibits the development of informed preventive programs and interventions. The study was aimed at identifying psychosocial and behavioural factors associated with gambling involvement among 16- to 18-year-old adolescents.

STUDY DESIGN

Longitudinal study.

METHODS

The sample includes 511 adolescents (57.5% of men), who participated in a longitudinal study. Classrooms were randomly selected from public/non-public general, technical high schools and basic vocational schools from Warsaw. The self-administered anonymous questionnaire was completed during school lessons. Data reported in this study were from wave 1 (10th grade) and wave 2 (12th grade) with a response rate of about 65%. Gambling involvement was measured by combining a measure of six types of gambling behaviours and gambling-related problems in the last year. Gambling-related problems were measured by the Polish adaptation of the South Oaks Gambling Screen Revised for Adolescents. Both protective and risk factors measured in the study were selected from four broad domains representing (1) individual characteristic, (2) peer, (3) parental/familial and (4) school influences.

RESULTS

About 50% of students were involved in some form of gambling at least once in their lifetime. The most prevalent forms of gambling among study participants included lottery games, scratch cards, card games and participation in sports betting. Approximately 3-4% of adolescents have had symptoms of increased gambling involvement. Generalised linear model analysis showed that male gender, wave 1 gambling, sensation seeking, delinquency and cyberbullying were the risk factors. Positive relationships with parents and meaningful activities were found as protective factors against gambling involvement.

CONCLUSION

The results of our study indicate that prevention programs/interventions based on positive parent-child relation building and meaningful activities allowing satisfaction of the need to take risks in a socially acceptable manner can be effective in counteracting increased gambling involvement among youth.

Gambling disorder in adolescents: prevalence, new developments, and treatment challenges

Research on adolescence gambling over the past twenty years has revealed significant incidence and prevalence rates and highlighted the possible negative effects on an adolescent’s well-being. Several risk and protective factors have also been identified. Over the course of the past few years, technological advances have heralded the advent of new avenues for gambling as well as new opportunities to gamble without any direct monetary exchange. This review article examines those established trends as well as the new issues that we are faced with, in order to accurately portray the current challenges in research, prevention, and treatment.

Equipping School Psychologists to Address Another Risky Behavior

School psychologists are assuming an increasingly important role in ensuring youth have the mental and emotional health to succeed academically. Although considerable attention has been paid to a number of adolescent high-risk behaviors including drug and alcohol use, cigarette smoking, and sexually transmitted diseases, little attention has been paid to youth gambling behaviors. Youth problem gambling has been largely overlooked as a mental and public health issue although it can result in serious mental heath consequences and impede students’ academic success. The current state of knowledge regarding adolescent gambling is presented. Prevention and intervention initiatives that are accessible to school psychologists are outlined, and the challenges to school psychologists in implementing youth problem gambling prevention programs are discussed.

Problem Gambling Among Ontario Students: Associations with Substance Abuse, Mental Health Problems, Suicide Attempts, and Delinquent Behaviours

This paper describes gambling problems among Ontario students in 2009 and examines the relationship between gambling problems and substance use problems, mental health problem indicators, and delinquent behaviors. Data were derived from the Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey of Ontario students in grades 7-12. Gambling problems were measured as 2 or more of 6 indicators of problem gambling. In total 2.8% of the students surveyed endorsed two or more of the problem gambling items. The odds of problem gamblers reporting mental distress was 4.2 times higher than the rest of the sample and the odds of problem gamblers reporting a suicide attempt were 17.8 times greater than the rest of the sample. In addition compared to the rest of the students, delinquent behaviors were also more common among problem gamblers, including theft (OR = 14.5), selling marijuana (OR = 19.6), gang fights (OR = 11.3) and carrying a handgun (OR = 11.2). In a multivariate analysis, substance-use problems, mental health problems, and the participation in a variety of delinquent behaviors remained significantly associated with youth problem gambling behavior. Students who report problem gambling behaviors show increased substance abuse, mental health, and delinquency/criminal problems that are similar to those seen among adult problem gamblers. The association between these problems suggests that these problems could be addressed in a unified manner.

Italian Adolescent Gambling Behaviour: Psychometric Evaluation of the South Oaks Gambling Screen: Revised for Adolescents (SOGS-RA) among a sample of Italian students

Since no Italian validated instrument focuses specifically on the measurement of pathological gambling in very young people, with this study, we aim to adapt an international instrument (SOGS-RA) and assess its psychometric properties in a sample (n = 14.910) of young Italian students aged between 15 and 19 years. Cross-cultural adaptation of the instrument was performed through translation, synthesis of translation, back-translation, expert committee review, and pre-testing. The kappa statistic for test-retest concordance ranged from 0.53 to 0.80. Internal validity was assessed by the MCA that identified one principal component with eigenvalue equal to 3,875: the Divgi index and very simple structure analysis also pointed out one common factor, so uni-dimensionality of the SOGS-RA was accepted. Moreover the SOGS-RA was found to have acceptable internal consistency (α = 0.780). Cronbach's alpha was also assessed separately among males and females (respectively 0.786 and 0.707). The SOGS-RA was assessed in relation to gambling frequency, alcohol and drug use: Chi squared test revealed a strong association both for males and females with gambling frequency (p value ≤ 0.0001), frequent use of illicit drugs (for each drug p value ≤ 0.0001) and having had 3 or more occasions of binge drinking in the last month (p value ≤ 0.0001). At the end we can say that, the results of our study suggest that the SOGS-RA screen may be useful to assess at-risk or problem gambling for both genders in comprehensive youth surveys.

Substance use and antisocial behavior in adolescents: the role of family and peer-individual risk and protective factors

Extant literature reports a frequent co-occurrence of substance consumption and antisocial behaviors. It is also postulated, therefore, that risk and protective factors are shared by the two behaviors. The purpose of this research is to test this notion by exploring whether family and peer-individual risk and protective factors are similarly associated with unique and co-occurring substance consumption and antisocial behaviors. A sample of 1,599 school students ranging between the ages of 11 and 19 completed a Spanish-language version of the Communities That Care Youth Survey (CTCYS). This instrument measures risk and protective factors and also captures adolescent drug consumption and antisocial behaviors. We find that risk and protective factors seem to operate in distinct ways for drug consumption and antisocial behaviors when they occur separately. Our findings indicate that the co-occurrence of both behaviors is related to risk factors, but it should not be inferred that the same factors will be present when only one behavior is observed.

The (co-)occurrence of problematic video gaming, substance use, and psychosocial problems in adolescents

AIMS

The current study explored the nature of problematic (addictive) video gaming (PVG) and the association with game type, psychosocial health, and substance use.

METHODS

Data were collected using a paper and pencil survey in the classroom setting. Three samples were aggregated to achieve a total sample of 8478 unique adolescents. Scales included measures of game use, game type, the Video game Addiction Test (VAT), depressive mood, negative self-esteem, loneliness, social anxiety, education performance, and use of cannabis, alcohol and nicotine (smoking).

RESULTS

Findings confirmed problematic gaming is most common amongst adolescent gamers who play multiplayer online games. Boys (60%) were more likely to play online games than girls (14%) and problematic gamers were more likely to be boys (5%) than girls (1%). High problematic gamers showed higher scores on depressive mood, loneliness, social anxiety, negative self-esteem, and self-reported lower school performance. Nicotine, alcohol, and cannabis using boys were almost twice more likely to report high PVG than non-users.

CONCLUSIONS

It appears that online gaming in general is not necessarily associated with problems. However, problematic gamers do seem to play online games more often, and a small subgroup of gamers - specifically boys - showed lower psychosocial functioning and lower grades. Moreover, associations with alcohol, nicotine, and cannabis use are found. It would appear that problematic gaming is an undesirable problem for a small subgroup of gamers. The findings encourage further exploration of the role of psychoactive substance use in problematic gaming.

Low self-control and co-occurrence of gambling with substance use and delinquency among Chinese adolescents

Relatively little is known about gambling co-morbidity in Asian youth populations. The role of trait self-control in co-morbidity also remains under-explored in the gambling literature. This study examined the association between gambling, substance use and delinquency among Chinese adolescents, and the extent to which these forms of risk behavior are commonly predicted by low self-control. Data from a cross-sectional questionnaire survey of a stratified, random sample of 4,734 high school students aged 12-23 years in Hong Kong were analyzed. The prevalence of gambling pathology, frequency and attitudes showed statistically significant, positive and consistent relationships with tobacco use, alcohol use, and delinquent acts at the p < .001 level. Further analyses revealed that low self-control significantly (p < .001) predicts at-risk/probable pathological gambling, frequent gambling, strong permissiveness toward gambling, heavy use of tobacco and alcohol, and delinquent involvement, even after controlling for the potential shared correlates of socioeconomic characteristics, parental monitoring and peer delinquency. Hence, the concept that gambling problems and strong receptivity to gambling are likely to be part of a general problem behavior syndrome is evinced cross-culturally among young people in a Chinese context. It may also be cost-effective to increase intervention efforts to improve the self-control deficit in adolescents, as this should reduce their gambling and concurrent problem behavior.

Illicit drug use and problem gambling

Problem gambling, substance use disorders, and their cooccurrence are serious public health concerns. We conducted a comprehensive review of the literature to understand the present state of the evidence on these coaddictions. Our main focus was illicit drug use rather than misuse of legal substances. The review covers issues related to gambling as a hidden problem in the illicit drug use community; prevalence, problem gambling, and substance use disorders as kindred afflictions; problem gambling as an addiction similar to illicit drug use; risk factors and problems associated with comorbidity, and gender issues. We end with some suggestions for future research.

Association between adverse life events and addictive behaviors among male and female adolescents

BACKGROUND

Adverse life events have been associated with gambling and substance use as they can serve as forms of escapism. Involvement in gambling and substance use can also place individuals in adversely stressful situations.

OBJECTIVES

To explore potential male-female differences in the association between addictive behavior and adverse life events among an urban cohort of adolescents.

METHOD

The study sample comprised of 515 adolescent participants in a randomized prevention trial. With self-reported data, four addictive behavior groups were created: nonsubstance users and nongamblers, substance users only, gamblers only, and substance users and gamblers. Multinomial logistic regression analyses with interaction terms of sex and adverse life events were conducted.

RESULTS

Adverse life events and engaging in at least one addictive behavior were common for both sexes. Substance users and gamblers had more than twice the likelihood of nonsubstance users and nongamblers to experience any event as well as events of various domains (ie, relationship, violence, and instability). Neither relationship nor instability events' associations with the co-occurrence of substance use and gambling significantly differed between sexes. Conversely, females exposed to violence events were significantly more likely than similarly exposed males to report the co-occurrence of substance use and gambling.

CONCLUSION

Findings from the current study prompt future studies to devote more attention to the development of effective programs that teach adaptive coping strategies to adolescents, particularly to females upon exposure to violence.

From risk-seeking to risk-averse: the development of economic risk preference from childhood to adulthood

Adolescence is often described as a period of heightened risk-taking. Adolescents are notorious for impulsivity, emotional volatility, and risky behaviors such as drinking and driving under the influence of alcohol. By contrast, we found that risk-taking declines linearly from childhood to adulthood when individuals make choices over monetary gambles. Further, with age we found increases in the sensitivity to economic risk, defined as the degree to which a preference for assured monetary gains over a risky payoff depends upon the variability in the risky payoff. These findings indicate that decisions about economic risk may follow a different developmental trajectory than other kinds of risk-taking, and that changes in sensitivity to risk may be a major factor in the development of mature risk aversion.

Developmental momentum toward substance dependence: natural histories and pliability of risk factors in youth experiencing chronic stress

BACKGROUND

Mitigation of substance use (SU) disorder (SUD) risk factors is a common goal of prevention. Research has clarified much about risk factors including their prediction of SU/SUD, associations with other etiological variables and mediation of SU outcomes. Greater understanding of the emergence of risk factors themselves may improve prevention. For example, in lieu of experimental data, the level of resistance to change of a risk factor (its pliability) could inform "dosage" of intervention needed to reduce the risk.

METHODS

Two attributes of 22 previously-documented predictors of SU/SUD were quantified: natural history (average age-related trend) and pliability (quantified using correlations between intercepts and growth parameters of hierarchical linear modeling trajectories). The longitudinal sample of 1147 8- through 16-year-olds were recruited from a northeastern summer camp for youth experiencing chronic stress due to one or more stressors (X¯=2.2stressors, SD=1.41) which typically last at least one year. Half were male, 69.3% were European-American, 8.5% were African-American, and the remaining were small proportions each of other or mixed races/ethnicities.

RESULTS

Average trajectories of 21 predictors correspond to increasing SUD risk with age. Predictor pliability varied greatly, ranging from extremely high for School Commitment to extremely low for Peer Pressure Susceptibility.

CONCLUSIONS

Results suggest different intervention strategies may be needed to manage risk factors over the long-term. To illustrate, maintaining a high school commitment appears to require boosters whereas reducing peer pressure susceptibility appears to require high initial "dosage" with less need for boosters.

Differences in pathological gambling prevalence estimates: facts or artefacts?

The paper aims at investigating whether survey methodology has recently converged to justify the common practice of comparing prevalence estimates and interpreting differences within and between countries. To this end, prevalence studies of problem (PrG) and pathological gambling (PG) published in peer-reviewed journals between 2000 and 2010 were critically reviewed. A systematic computer-based literature search was conducted within various databases and major gambling journals. In a two-step search process, a total of 39 studies reporting current prevalence data of non-clinical national samples from different countries were identified. Analyses revealed wide ranges in estimated PrG/PG rates for adults, adolescents, and college students, whereas similar estimates were reported in two studies on PrG/PG in seniors. Despite the discussion on methodological consistency in the field of gambling research, comparability of the reported estimates was found to be still highly limited by major variation between studies with regard to survey description, administration format, exclusion criteria, assessment instrument, cut-off scores, sample frame, and reference period. The interpretation of differences in PrG and PG prevalence estimates within and between countries may be improved by using valid and reliable instruments and by applying comparable survey methodology in well-defined populations.

Beyond drugs and alcohol: Including gambling in a high-risk behavioural framework

Studies throughout North America have suggested that more adolescents are gambling today than in the past. Over the past decade, gambling has become a popular form of entertainment and part of mainstream society. With the increase in gambling availability has come a rise in not only the number of youth who participate in gambling, but also the number who exhibit serious gambling problems. There is growing concern that adolescents and young adults are the highest risk group for problem gambling. The National Research Council, in its critical review of pathological gambling, indicated that the prevalence of problem gambling among adolescents is consistently higher than among adults, despite differences in measurement. Yet, efforts to prevent and treat problems among this population have only recently emerged as an important adolescent health issue. The present article reviews the risk factors, mental health correlates and warning signs of adolescent gambling problems, with the aim of raising awareness among health professionals working with youth of the need to address this issue within their practices.

Parents' Perceptions of Adolescent Gambling: A Canadian National Study

Previous unsubstantiated reports by children and adolescents suggest tacit parental acceptance of their gambling behaviour. A Canadian national survey of parents with teens between the ages of 13 and 18 revealed that in general parents view adolescent gambling as a relatively unimportant issue compared to other potentially risky behaviours. Parental attitudes toward youth gambling, their knowledge and awareness of youth gambling prevention programs, and their gambling behaviours with their children suggest that gambling has become normalized, with few parents being aware of the potential seriousness of youth gambling. The results are interpreted with the aim of improving harm minimization and prevention initiatives.

The co-occurrence of gambling with substance use and conduct disorder among youth in the United States

The co-occurrence of gambling with substance use and conduct disorder was examined in a representative U.S. household sample of 2,274 youth 14-21 years old. The findings show that problem gambling occurs within a problem-behavior syndrome with other substance-use behaviors and conduct disorder. Male gender, being black, and being Hispanic were found to be significant in predicting problem gambling over and above the effects of all four substance use and conduct disorder variables. Clinical interventions for one specific problem behavior in youth should consider assessing the other problem behaviors as well. 

Adolescent gambling: a review of an emerging field of research

PURPOSE

The purpose of this review was to summarize the research on adolescent gambling with implications for research and prevention or intervention.

METHOD

The methodology involved a comprehensive and systematic search of "adolescent or youth gambling" in three diverse electronic databases (MedlineAdvanced, PsycINFO, and Sociological Abstracts) and three peer-reviewed journals (International Journal of Gambling Studies, International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, and Journal of Gambling Issues).

RESULTS

The search resulted in 137 articles (1985-2010) focusing on gambling among youth aged between 9 and 21 years: 103 quantitative, 8 qualitative, and 26 non-empirical. The study of adolescent gambling can be summarized as follows: (a) it is conducted by a relatively small group of researchers in Britain, Canada, and the United States; (b) it is primarily prevalence-focused, quantitative, descriptive, school-based, and atheoretical; (c) it has most often been published in the Journal of Gambling Studies; (d) it is most often examined in relation to alcohol use; (e) it has relatively few valid and reliable screening instruments that are developmentally appropriate for adolescents, and (f) it lacks racially diverse samples.

CONCLUSION

Four recommendations are presented for both research and prevention or intervention which are as follows: (1) to provide greater attention to the development and validation of survey instruments or diagnostic criteria to assess adolescent problem gambling; (2) to begin to develop and test more gambling prevention or intervention strategies; (3) to not only examine the co-morbidity of gambling and alcohol abuse, but also include other behaviors such as sexual activity; and (4) to pay greater attention to racial and ethnic differences in the study of adolescent gambling.

Non-substance-addictive behaviors in youth: pathological gambling and problematic Internet use

Adolescence is characterized by participation in multiple novel and potentially risky behaviors. Amongst these behaviors are gambling and use of the Internet, and excessive engagement in these activities (as seen in pathological gambling and problematic Internet use) may be accompanied by serious impairments in school, mental health, and social functioning. This article reviews the potential impact of pathological gambling and problematic Internet use in youth, the relevance of subsyndromal levels of participation, and how prevention and treatment strategies may be considered and tested within a developmental framework.

The illustration-based Assessment of Liability and EXposure to Substance use and Antisocial behavior for children

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES

Ontogenetic prevention of substance abuse requires that an individual's "profile" of substance abuse predictors is assessed to guide intervention decision-making ( [1] ). For child intervention, self-report data provide information that cannot be obtained from other sources such as parents or teachers. However, efficient child report instruments of substance abuse risk factors are lacking. The Assessment of Liability and EXposure to Substance use and Antisocial behavior((c)) (ALEXSA((c))) is an illustration-based, computerized child report assessment for early manifestations and predictors of substance abuse and antisocial behavior.

METHODS

Construct validity and test-retest reliabilities of ALEXSA subscales were estimated in 272 nine to twelve-year old students from regular and remedial education classrooms.

RESULTS

Anecdotal and quantitative data demonstrated that children enjoy the ALEXSA format. All factors and 34 of 39 subscales had good or better reliabilities. Nine factors were extracted: Disinhibition (example subscales are Irritability, Impulsivity), Sensation Seeking (e.g., Gambling, Social Disinhibition), Self Management (e.g., Planning and Concentration, Problem Solving), Family Discord (e.g., Family Behavior Problems, Family Conflict), Parent Fortification (e.g., Parental Monitoring, Parent Attachment), Social Contagion (e.g., Friends' Conduct Disorder Criteria, Peer Pressure Susceptibility), Social Support (e.g., Social Support: Adults, Number of Friends), Neighborhood Risks (e.g., Gang Exposure, Neighborhood Atmosphere), and School Protection (e.g., Academic Competency, School Commitment).

SCIENTIFIC SIGNIFICANCE

The ALEXSA could provide efficient child reports for research, needs assessment, and outcomes to support etiology and prevention of substance abuse and antisocial behavior.

Correlates of gambling among youth in an inner-city emergency department

Correlates of past year gambling were examined in a diverse sample of 1128 youth ages 14 to 18 (54.1% female, 58.0% African American) presenting to an inner-city emergency department (ED). Overall, 22.5% of the sample reported past-year gambling. Male youth were more likely to gamble than female youth, and African American youth reported higher rates of past-year gambling than non-African American youth. Significant bivariate correlates of gambling included lower academic achievement, being out of school, working more than 20 hours per week, alcohol, cigarette, and marijuana use, alcohol problems, severe dating violence, moderate and severe general violence, and carrying a weapon. When examined simultaneously, being male, African American, out of school, working for pay, alcohol and marijuana use, severe general violence, and carrying a weapon all emerged as significant correlates of past-year gambling, largest amount of money gambled, and gambling frequency. In addition, involvement in severe dating violence was associated with frequency and largest amount gambled. The results suggest that gambling is common among youth in the inner city and is associated with several risk behaviors. The inner-city ED may provide a context for screening and intervention to address multiple risk behaviors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved).

Gambling, alcohol, and other substance use among youth in the United States

OBJECTIVE

Problem gambling has been linked with substance misuse among youth in a number of regional studies, yet there have been no large representative U.S. surveys of gambling behaviors and substance use among youth. The present study is designed to compare the patterns and co-occurrence of gambling and alcohol and other substance use among youth in the United States.

METHOD

A random telephone survey was conducted with 2,274 youth ages 14-21 years old living in households in every area of the United States.

RESULTS

Problem gambling and substance misuse are prevalent among young people. For instance, 17% of youth reported gambling 52 or more times in the past year, and the same percentage of youth drank five or more drinks on 12 or more days in the past year. Ten percent of youth reported having three or more gambling problems in the past year, and 15% of young people reported having three or more alcohol problems. Controlling for gender, age, and socioeconomic status, black youth have a significantly increased probability of frequent gambling compared with other racial/ethnic groups, yet they have a significantly decreased probability of heavy drinking. Alcohol problems and gambling problems show high co-occurrence, especially for male youth and black youth.

CONCLUSIONS

Population subgroups with a high co-occurrence of alcohol and gambling problems are important for targeted prevention and intervention strategies.

Designing a longitudinal cohort study of gambling in Alberta: rationale, methods, and challenges

Longitudinal research on the determinants of gambling behavior is sparse. This article briefly reviews the previous seventeen longitudinally designed studies, focusing on the methodology for each study. This is followed by a description of our ongoing longitudinal study entitled the Leisure, Lifestyle, and Lifecycle Project (LLLP). Participants for the LLLP were recruited from four locations in Alberta, Canada, including both rural and urban populations. In the LLLP most participants were recruited using random digit dialing (RDD), with 1808 participants from 5 age cohorts at baseline: 13-15, 18-20, 23-25, 43-45, and 63-65. Individuals completed telephone, computer, and face-to-face surveys at baseline, with the data collection occurring between February and October, 2006. At baseline, a wide variety of constructs were measured, including gambling behavior, substance use, psychopathology, intelligence, family environment, and internalizing and externalizing problems. Finally, the conclusions that can be drawn thus far are discussed as well as the plans for three future data collections.

Gender differences in mental health characteristics and gambling among African-American adolescent gamblers

This study explores gender differences in lifetime and recent substance use/internalizing behavior, childhood externalizing behavior, and gambling preferences among African-American youth gamblers. Data are from a prospective study of a community sample of 452 urban African-American youths who began at entry into first grade and were followed for ten years. Gambling was associated with high teacher ratings of childhood externalizing behaviors among males and with high parent ratings of childhood impulsivity and hyperactivity among both genders. Internalizing behavior was associated with female gambling. No male-female differences in substance use/lifetime conduct disorder among gamblers were noted. Gambling preferences/frequency differed across genders.

Epidemiology of youth gambling problems in Canada: a national prevalence study

OBJECTIVES

To describe the epidemiology of gambling problems among youth aged 15 to 24 years in Canada and to examine whether these gambling prevalence patterns differ by sex and (or) by geographic region.

METHOD

We used data from The Canadian Community Health Survey: Mental Health and Well-Being. Gambling problems were determined according to the Canadian Problem Gambling Index. All prevalence estimates used appropriate sampling weights and bootstrap variance estimation procedures developed by Statistics Canada. Multivariate logistic regression modelling was also employed to supplement the above prevalence comparisons by age, sex, and region.

RESULTS

Among Canadian youth aged 15 to 24 years (n=5666), 61.35% gambled in the past 12 months and the national prevalence of moderate-risk or problem gambling was 2.22% (3.30% in male respondents and 1.10% in female respondents). Male respondents had significantly higher prevalence of gambling problems than female respondents. Regional prevalence estimates of youth moderate-risk or problem gambling were 1.37% in British Columbia, 2.17% in the Prairie provinces, 2.75% in Ontario, 2.12% in Quebec, and 1.71% in the Atlantic provinces.

CONCLUSIONS

Youth, particularly young men, are at greater risk for gambling problems than adults. More prevention and research efforts are also needed to address the observed sex differences and interregional variability in the prevalence of gambling problems among youth. The national prevalence estimates from this study provide important baseline data against which future cohorts of Canadians can be monitored and measured.

Environmental correlates of gambling behavior in urban adolescents

The present study considered the relation between adolescent gambling behavior and the perceived environment, the component of Jessor and Jessor's (1977) Problem Behavior Theory that assesses the ways that adolescents perceive the attitudes and behaviors of parents and peers. The predominantly African-American sample included 188 sophomores from two urban public high schools. Using the South Oaks Gambling Screen-Revised for Adolescents to assess gambling risk, rates of both at-risk (20.7%) and problem (12.8%) gambling were found to be high. Boys displayed more gambling problems than did girls. The perceived environment accounted for significant variance in gambling problems and frequency, with proximal components displaying stronger relationships than distal components. Perceiving parent gambling and friend models for problem behavior were positively correlated with gambling problems, and friend models were positively related to gambling frequency. Among girls, family support was positively related to gambling problems. Among boys, this relation was negative.

Adolescent Gambling: Understanding the Role of Stress and Coping

The central variables of stress, coping, and gambling severity were examined along three lines of inquiry. The first addressed whether adolescents with gambling problems reported a greater number of minor or major stressful (i.e., negative) life events relative to others. The second examined whether more with gambling problems employed less-effective coping styles, such as those characterized as less task- or solution-focused, and more emotion- or avoidance-focused coping. Finally, the third question explored whether adolescents' coping styles mediated the association between stress and gambling severity. Ranging from 11 to 20 years of age, 2,156 high-school students completed instruments assessing gambling involvement, gambling severity, stressful life events, and coping styles. Results indicated that, overall, adolescents with gambling-related problems reported more negative life events relative to social gamblers and non-gamblers. When negative life events were further separated into major and minor events, results revealed that problem gamblers reported more major negative life events but not more minor negative life events relative to others. Results indicated that adolescents with gambling-related problems used less task-focused coping, and more avoidance-focused coping. Males, but not females, who experience gambling-related problems reported using more emotion-focused coping strategies. Finally, emotion-oriented coping was found to mediate the relationship between negative life events and gambling severity. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.

Pathways of youth gambling problem severity

Prospective studies are needed to advance knowledge of the developmental features of gambling involvement and associated problems. Developmental pathways of youth gambling problem severity (no problem gambling, at-risk gambling, and problem gambling) are described on the basis of a 3-wave data set that spans midadolescence to young adulthood (N=305). The most prevalent group was the resistors (no problem gambling at all data points); 60% of study participants were in this group. New incidence cases (no problem gambling followed by at-risk or problem gambling) and desistors (at-risk or problem gambling followed by no problem gambling) were found among 21% and 13% of participants, respectively. Only 4% of cases were persistors, that is, at-risk or problem gambling at all 3 data waves. Findings are discussed in light of extant research on adolescent gambling that heretofore has not benefited from a developmental pathway perspective.

Psychosocial correlates of problem gambling in Australian students

OBJECTIVE

This study examined the relationship between problem gambling and psychological and social adjustment in Australian adolescents.

METHOD

A sample of 926 adolescents (mean age = 14.46 years) in the Australian Capital Territory were administered a standardized series of measures relating to gambling and psychosocial adjustment. Young people were asked to indicate how often they gambled, to report any difficulties that they might have been experiencing with gambling, and to complete a variety of measures of psychosocial health, including: the GHQ-12, Rosenberg's self-esteem scale and other measures of social functioning.

RESULTS

The results were generally consistent with previous international studies. Those adolescents classified as problem gamblers were found to have poorer scores on all psychosocial measures. Although many in the problem gambling group reported being part of a socially active peer group, they also reported being more alienated and unpopular among their classmates.

CONCLUSIONS

The results suggest that problem gambling appears to be a significant risk factor for poorer mental health among Australia adolescents. Given previous adult research indicating a link between early gambling and long-term gambling problems and poorer life outcomes (e.g. Abbott, McKenna and Giles, 2000 in New Zealand), these findings suggest a need to enhance existing educational initiatives and services specifically designed to assist adolescents with gambling problems.

Joint trajectories of gambling, alcohol and marijuana use during adolescence: a person- and variable-centered developmental approach

The usefulness of Moffitt's (1993) [Moffitt, T. E. (1993). Adolescence-limited and life-course-persistent antisocial behavior: A developmental taxonomy. Psychological Review, 100, 674-701.] theory of antisocial behavior was examined regarding gambling, alcohol and marijuana use. We assessed 903 Caucasian boys' developmental trajectories of these behaviors annually from age 11 through age 16. Severity of problems with these behaviors were assessed at ages 17 and 23. As correlates of these behaviors, teacher-rated personality and self-reported parenting were assessed at age 10. Self-reported autonomy was measured at ages 11 and 14. A cluster analysis on the correlates yielded two clusters. Membership in the cluster without adult problems was associated with either late onset of gambling and/or alcohol use trajectories or consistently low involvement in each of the behaviors. This cluster may correspond to Moffitt's adolescence-limited group and uninvolved adolescents, respectively. Membership in the cluster with subsequent adult problems was associated with early initiation of at least one of the three behaviors and involvement in each of them during adolescence. This cluster may correspond to Moffitt's life-course-persistent group. Findings indicate that early assessment of correlates used in the cluster analysis may be useful for screening and preventive purposes.

Gender differences in adolescent gambling

BACKGROUND

Although adolescent gambling has been linked to a wide array of risk behaviors, little is known regarding the correlates of gambling in adolescent girls as compared with adolescent boys.

METHODS

We examined by logistic regression a nationally representative U.S. sample (n = 534) of 16- and 17-year-olds from the 1998 Gambling Impact and Behavior Study (GIBS) (1) to investigate the influence of gender on: 1) the association between gambling and psychiatric symptomatology; and, 2) gambling attitudes and behaviors.

RESULTS

Gambling was associated with elevated rates of alcohol use and abuse/dependence in both boys and girls, and dysphoria/depression in girls only. Boy gamblers reported heavier gambling and higher rates of gambling problems than did girl gamblers.

CONCLUSIONS

Adolescent gambling may be associated with more severe psychiatric symptoms in girls than in boys, though future research will be needed to replicate and extend these findings. Gender considerations are important in understanding youth gambling and the relationship between gambling and psychiatric disorders in adolescents.

Shared predictors of youthful gambling, substance use, and delinquency

Given that gambling, alcohol misuse, other drug use, and delinquency are correlated, it is hypothesized that these problem behaviors have shared antecedents. Measures from 3 explanatory domains--sociodemographic factors (age, race, and socioeconomic status), individual factors (impulsivity and moral disengagement), and socialization factors (parental monitoring and peer delinquency)--were tested for links to problem behaviors in 2 longitudinal samples of adolescents. Black youth had lower levels of problem behaviors than Whites. Impulsivity was a significant predictor of alcohol misuse for females and delinquency for males. Moral disengagement predicted gambling for males. Parental monitoring showed a significant inverse relationship to alcohol misuse and other substance use for males. Peer delinquency showed numerous prospective paths to youth problem behaviors for both genders.