Citation

Zhai ZW, Duenas GL, Wampler J, Potenza MN. J. Gambl. Stud. 2020; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Affiliation

Child Study Center, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, 06510, USA. marc.potenza@yale.edu.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s10899-020-09931-8

PMID

32086680

Abstract

The study systematically examined the link between history of gambling, and substance-use and violence-related measures in male and female adolescents, and compared association differences between genders in representative youth risk behavior surveillance data. An anonymous survey was administered to 2425 9th- to 12th-grade students in the state of Connecticut to assess risk behaviors that impact health. Reported past-12-months gambling was the independent variable of interest. Chi squares and adjusted odds-ratios were computed to determine gambling associations with demographic variables, substance-use, and violence-related measures, and whether associations were different between genders. Among students, 18.6% reported gambling. Reported gambling in males and females associated with lifetime use of any drugs, marijuana, cocaine, inhalants, heroin, methamphetamines, ecstasy, synthetic marijuana, non-medical pain-relievers, and injected drugs, in addition to past-30-days cigarette smoking, alcohol and heavy alcohol drinking, and marijuana use. Gambling associated with reported weapon-carrying, being threatened or injured with a weapon, forced sexual intercourse, bullying, and electronic bullying in males; physical dating violence in females; and physical fighting and sexual dating violence in both groups. Gambling and gender interaction terms did not associate with outcome measures except synthetic marijuana use, which trended towards significance (P = 0.052). Gambling in adolescence was similarly linked to risk behaviors involving substance-use in males and females, though gambling relationships with different violence-measures varied between genders. Assessing gambling behavior may be important for targeted preventions focused on adolescents at risk for substance-use disorder and physical violence.

Language: en

Keywords

Adolescents; Gambling; Gender; Substance use; Violence; Weapons