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Gambling in the News: Gambling, Risk Behaviors and Adolescents

In this edition of the Newsletter, two recent news articles of interest to the field of prevention are highlighted.

An electronic article published by Pediatrics (Volume 102, Number 2) explored the connection between gambling and other risk behaviors among adolescents (available at www.pediatrics.org/cgi/content/full/102/2/e23).

The study design was an anonymous risk behavior administered to 21,297 8th - 12th grade students in 79 public and private schools in Vermont. This represents 67% of all students in these grades in Vermont. The survey was administered to all students in grades 8-12 who were present in school on one particular day. The sample was 49% male, with a mean age of 15.5 years. Some of the results included:

Cocaine Use:
gamblers without problems related to gambling - 4%
gamblers with problems related to gambling - 17%

Inhalant Use:
non-gamblers - 10%
gamblers without problems related to gambling ¬°V 20%
gamblers with problems related to gambling ¬°V 33%

Other Illegal Drug Use:
non-gamblers - 8%
gamblers without problems related to gambling - 15%
gamblers with problems related to gambling - 28%

Fighting Within the Past 30 Days:
non-gamblers - 25%
gamblers without problems related to gambling - 45%
gamblers with problems related to gambling - 62%

Although direct causation between gambling and other risk behaviors cannot be made out of this study, the results certainly indicate a need for further study. There is also a clear enough indication of co-existing high-risk behaviors to (1) warrant attention from prevention professionals as they design programs for high-risk youth and (2) encourage intervention and treatment professionals to assess gambling issues as they intake substance abusing youth.