Effects of alcohol misuse on gambling patterns in youth

Objective: Gambling and alcohol misuse are prevalent among youth and may be part of a common problem behavior syndrome. It was hypothesized that alcohol misuse would predict a pattern of increased youth gambling or a pattern of stable high gambling after controlling for key sociodemographic, socialization and individual factors. Method: Data were analyzed from two longitudinal studies of youth living in a western New York metropolitan area. Respondents' gambling at two times over the course of 12-18 months was classified into one of five gambling pattern groups, representing flat-low, increasing, flat-medium, flat-high and decreasing levels of gambling. Results: Alcohol misuse among males predicted increasing gambling over time or a pattern of stability of high rates of gambling even after controlling for socioeconomic status, race, age, impulsivity and parental monitoring in the family study. Higher parental monitoring and lower alcohol misuse were significant in predicting a decreasing pattern of gambling among males in the male delinquency study. For females in the family study, alcohol misuse predicted an increasing pattern of gambling only when other factors such as high impulsivity or low parental monitoring were present. Conclusions: An understanding of adolescent gambling must take into account a variety of demographic, socialization and individual factors, as well as the co-occurrence of alcohol misuse.