This study had two objectives: (a) to identify a link between gambling, delinquency, and substance use in a sample of early adolescent males and (b) to verify if behavioral precursors of gambling are similar to behavioral precursors of delinquency and substance use. Results indicated a concurrent link between gambling, delinquency, and substance use. They also revealed that low anxiety/withdrawal at 10 and 11 years of age predicted, although modestly, gambling. Somewhat different predictors were related to delinquency and substance use. Gambler and nongambler groups also were compared on concurrent self-ratings of delinquency and substance use and on antecedent teacher ratings and mother ratings of behavior problems. Results revealed that gamblers reported more delinquency and more substance use than nongamblers. Gamblers also were rated by teachers as less anxious/withdrawn than were nongamblers. Implications of the present results for understanding behavioral dimensions leading to gambling are discussed.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Achenbach, T. M.
, McConaughy, S. H., & Howell, C. T. (1987). Child/adolescent behavioral and emotional problems: Implications of cross-informant correlations for situational specificity. Psychological Bulletin, 101, 213-232.
2.
American Psychiatric Association
. (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
3.
Baumrind, D.
(1991). The influence of parenting style on adolescent competence and substance use. Journal of Early Adolescence, 11, 56-95.
4.
Blaszczynski, A. P.
, McConaghy, N., & Frankova, A. (1989). Crime, antisocial personality, and pathological gambling. Journal of Gambling Behavior, 5, 137-152.
5.
Blaszczynski, A. P.
, Winter, S. W., & McConaghy, N. (1986). Plasma endorphin levels in pathological gambling. Journal of Gambling Studies, 2, 3-14.
6.
Blishen, B. R.
, & McRoberts, H. A. (1976). A revised socioeconomic index for occupations in Canada. Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology, 13, 71-79.
7.
Carlton, P. L.
, & Goldstein, L. (1987). Physiological determinents of pathological gambling. In T. Glaski (Eds.), A handbook of pathological gambling (pp. 657-663). Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas.
8.
Carlton, P. L.
, & Manowitz, P. (1988). Physiological factors as determinants of pathological gambling. Journal of Gambling Behavior, 3, 274-285.
9.
Carlton, P. L.
, & Manowitz, P. (1992). Behavioral restraint and symptoms of attention deficit disorder in alcoholics and pathological gamblers. Neuropsychobiology, 25, 44-48.
10.
Ciarrocchi, J. W.
, Kirschner, N. M., & Fallick, F. (1991). Personality dimensions of male pathological gamblers, alcoholics, and dually addicted gamblers. Journal of Gambling Studies, 7, 133-141.
11.
Cloninger, C. R.
(1987). A systematic method for clinical description and classification of personality variants: A proposal. Archives of General Psychiatry, 44, 573-588.
12.
Cloninger, C. R.
, Sigvardsson, S., & Bohman, M. (1988). Childhood personality predicts alcohol abuse in young adults. Alcoholism: Clinica and Experimental Research, 12, 494-505.
13.
Cohen, J.
(1977). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences. New York: Academic Press.
14.
Coventry, K. R.
, & Brown, R. I. J. (1993). Sensation seeking, gambling, and gambling addictions. Addiction, 88, 541-554.
15.
Dell, L. J.
, Ruzicka, M. F., & Palisi, A. T. (1981). Personality and other factors associated with the gambling addiction. International Journal of the Addictions, 16, 149-156.
16.
Dickerson, M. G.
, Hinchy, J., & Fabre, J. (1987). Chasing and sensation seeking in off-course gamblers. British Journal of Addiction, 82, 672-680.
17.
Dobkin, P. L.
, Tremblay, R. E., Masse, L., & Vitaro, F. (1995). Individual and peer characteristics in predicting boys' early onset of substance abuse: A 7-year longitudinal study. Child Development, 66, 1198-1214.
18.
Fisher, S.
(1993). Gambling and pathological gambling in adolescents. Journal of Gambling Studies, 9, 277-288.
19.
Fréchette, M.
, & LeBlanc, M. (1987). Délinquances et délinquants [Deliquency and delinquents]. Chicoutimi, Quebec: Gaetan Morin.
20.
Friedman, A. S.
, Bransfield, S. A., Tomko, L. A., & Katz, S. (1991). Early childhood and maternal antecedents to drug use. Journal of Drug Education, 21, 313-331.
21.
Gray, J. A.
(1981). A critique of Eysenck's theory of personality. In H. J. Eysenck (Ed.), A model for personality (pp. 246-275). New York: Springer-Verlag.
22.
Gray, J. A.
(1982). The neuropsychology of anxiety. New York: Oxford University Press.
23.
Griffiths, M. D.
(1990). Addiction to fruit machines: A preliminary study among young males. Journal of Gambling Behavior, 6, 113-126.
24.
Henly, G. A.
, & Winters, K. C. (1989). Development of psychosocial scales for the assessment of adolescent alcohol and drug involvement. International Journal of the Addictions, 24, 973-1001.
25.
Hindelang, M. J.
, Hirschi, T., & Weiss, J. (1981). Measuring delinquency. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
26.
Jacobs, D. F.
(1989). Illegal and undocumented: A review of teenage gambling and the plight of children of problem gamblers in America. In H. J. Shaffer, S. A. Stein, B. Gambino, & T. N. Cummings (Eds.), Compulsive gambling: Theory, research, and practice (pp. 249-291). Toronto: Lexington Books.
27.
Kagan, D. M.
(1987). Addictive personality factor. Journal of Psychology, 126, 533-538.
28.
Kellam, S. G.
, Brown, H., & Fleming, J. P. (1982). Developmental epidemiological studies of substance use in Woodland: Implications for prevention research strategy. National Institute on Drug Abuse Research Monograph Series, 41, 21-33.
29.
Klein, M. W.
(1989). Cross-national research in self-reported crime and delinquency. Dordrecht, Germany: Kluwer Academic.
30.
Ladouceur, R.
, Dubé, D., & Bujold, A. (1994a). Gambling among primary school students. Manuscript submitted for publication.
31.
Ladouceur, R.
, Dubé, D., & Bujold, A. (1994b). Prevalence of pathological gambling and related problems among college students in the Quebec metropolitan area. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 39, 289-293.
32.
Ladouceur, R.
, Dubé, D., Giroux, I., Legendre, N., & Gaudet, C. (in press). Cognitive biases in gambling: American roulette and 6/49 lottery. Journal of Social Behavior and Pesonality.
33.
Ladouceur, R.
, & Mireault, C. (1988). Gambling behaviors among high school students in the Quebec area. Journal of Gambling Behavior, 4, 3-12.
34.
Ladouceur, R.
, Paquet, C., & Dubé, D. (in press). Erroneous perceptions in generating sequences of random events. Applied Cognitive Psychology.
35.
Ladouceur, R.
, & Walker, M. (in press). Cognitive perspective on gambling. In P. M. Salkovskis (Ed.), Trends in cognitive therapy. Oxford: Wlley.
36.
Lahey, B. B.
, McBurnett, K., Loeber, R., & Hart, E. L. (in press). Psychobiology of conduct disorder. In G. P. Sholevar (Ed.), Conduct disorders in children and adolescents: Assessments and interventions. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press.
37.
LeBlanc, M.
, & Fréchette, M. (1989). Male criminal activity from childhood through youth: Multilevel and developmental perspective. New York: Springer-Verlag.
38.
LeBlanc, M.
, & McDuff, P. (1991). Activitis délictueuses, troubles de comportement, et experience familiale au cours de la latence [Delinquency, behavior problems, and family dynamics during the latency period]. Unpublished research report, Department of Psycho-education, University of Montreal, Montreal.
39.
Lesieur, H. R.
, Cross, J., Frank, M., Welch, M., White, C. M., Rubenstein, G., Moseley, K., & Mark, M. (1991). Gambling and pathological gambling among university students. Addictive Behaviors, 16, 517-527.
40.
Lesieur, H. R.
, & Klein, R. (1987). Pathological gambling among high school students. Addictive Behaviors, 12, 129-135.
41.
Loeber, R.
, & Dishion, T J. (1983). Early predictors of male delinquency: A review. Psychological Bulletin, 94, 68-98.
42.
Loeber, R.
, Tremblay, R. E., Gagnon, C., & Charlebois, P. (1989). Continuity and desistance in disruptive boys' early fighting at school. Development and Psychopathology, 1, 39-50.
43.
Magnusson, D.
, & Bergman, L. R. (1990). A pattern approach to the study of pathways from childhood to adulthood. In L. N. Robins & M. Rutter (Eds.), Straight and devious pathways from childhood to adulthood (pp. 101-115). New York: Cambridge University Press.
44.
Martinez-Pina, A.
, Guirao de Parga, J. L., Fuste i Vallverdu, R., Serrat-Planas, X., Mateo, M. M., & Aguado, V. M. (1991). The Catalonia Survey: Personality and intelligence structure in a sample of compulsive gamblers. Journal of Gambling Studies, 7, 275-299.
45.
McCormick, R. A.
, Taber, J., Kruedelbach, N., & Angel, R. (1987). Personality profiles of hospitalized pathological gamblers: The California Personality Inventory. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 43, 521-527.
46.
McMahon, R. J.
(1984). Behavioral checklists and rating scales. In T. H. Ollendick & M. Hersen (Eds.), Child behavioral assessment. Principles & procedures (pp. 80-105). New York: Pergamon.
47.
National Housing and Town Planning Council
. (1988). The use of arcades and gambling machines: A national survey. London: Author.
48.
Pulkkinen, L.
(1983). Youthful smoking and drinking in a longitudinal perspective. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 12, 253-283.
49.
Rutter, M.
(1992). Adolescence as a transition period: Continuities and discontinuities in conduct disorder. Journal of Adolescent Health, 13, 451-460.
50.
Shedler, J.
, & Block, J. (1990). Adolescent drug use and psychological health: A longitudinal inquiry. American Psychologist, 45, 612-630.
51.
Tremblay, R. E.
, Desmarais-Gervais, L., Gagnon, C., & Charlebois, P. (1987). The Preschool Behavior Questionnaire: Stability of its factor structure between cultures, sexes, ages, and socioeconomic classes. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 10, 467-484.
52.
Tremblay, R. E.
, Pihl, R. O., Vitaro, F., & Dobkin, P. L. (1994). Predicting early onset of male antisocial behavior from preschool behavior: A test of two personality theories. Archives of General Psychiatry, 51, 732-738.
53.
Walker, M. B.
(1992). The psychology of gambling. Oxford: Pergamon.
54.
Wills, T. A.
, Vaccaro, D., & McNamara, G. (1994). Novelty seeking risk taking, and related constructs as predictors of adolescent substance use: An application of Cloninger's theory. Journal of Substance Abuse, 6, 1-20.
55.
Winters, K. C.
, Stinchfield, R. D., Henly, G. A., & Schwartz, R. H. (1990-1991). Validity of adolescent self-report of alcohol and other drug involvement. The International Journal of Addiction, 25, 1379-1395.
