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Abstract
ABSTRACT. Background: The study examined in adolescents how alcohol-drinking frequency relates to gambling-related attitudes and behaviors and perceptions of both problem-gambling prevention strategies and adult (including parental) behaviors/attitudes. Methods: A survey assessing alcohol, gambling, and health and functioning measures in 1609 high school students. Students were stratified into low-frequency/nondrinking and high-frequency-drinking groups, and into low-risk and at-risk/problematic gambling groups. Results: High-frequency drinking was associated with at-risk/problematic gambling (χ2(1,N = 1842) = 49.22, P < .0001). High-frequency-drinking versus low-frequency/nondrinking adolescents exhibited more permissive attitudes towards gambling (e.g., less likely to report multiple problem-gambling prevention efforts to be important). At-risk problematic gamblers exhibited more severe drinking patterns and greater likelihood of acknowledging parental approval of drinking (χ2(1, N = 1842) = 31.58, P < .0001). Problem-gambling severity was more strongly related to gambling with adults among high-frequency-drinking adolescents (odds ratio [OR] = 3.17, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] = [1.97, 5.09]) versus low-frequency/nondrinking (OR = 1.86, 95% CI = [0.61, 2.68]) adolescents (interaction OR = 1.78, 95% CI = [1.05, 3.02]). Conclusions: Interrelationships between problematic drinking and gambling in youth may relate to more permissive attitudes across these domains. Stronger links between at-risk/problem gambling and gambling with adults in the high-frequency-drinking group raises the possibility that interventions targeting adults may help mitigate youth gambling and drinking.
FUNDING
This research was supported in part by grants R01 DA019039, RL1 AA017539, and R01 DA018647 from the National Institutes of Health; the Connecticut State Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services; the Connection; the Connecticut Mental Health Center; and a Center of Excellence in Gambling Research Award from the National Center for Responsible Gaming. The funding agencies did not provide input or comment on the content of the manuscript, and the content of the manuscript reflects the contributions and thoughts of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the funding agencies.
AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS
Drs. Hoff, Krishnan-Sarin, and Potenza were responsible for participant recruitment, data collection, and managing the experimental design of this study. Dr. Steinberg provided input on the study questionnaire. Drs. Pilver and Hoff designed and conducted data analyses. Mr. Rahman and Dr. Balodis, with Dr. Potenza's assistance, conducted literature searches and wrote the first draft of the manuscript, including abstract, introduction, methods, results, and discussion. All authors, including Drs. Rugle and Leeman, have read, provided comments on, and approved the final draft of the manuscript.