Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #120947

Silvia S. Martins, MD, PhD¹, Nicholas Ialongo, PhD², and Howard Chilcoat, ScD¹. (1) Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 624 N. Broadway Hampton House 8th floor, Baltimore, MD 21205, 410-614-2852, smartins@jhsph.edu, (2) Department of Mental Hygiene, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, 624 North Broadway, Baltimore, MD 21205

Objectives: This study describes the incidence of gambling disorders and estimates the associations of gambling disorders with drug use/abuse/dependence, conduct disorders, and deviant peer affiliation among adolescents. Methods: Data were drawn from the JHU PIRC Second Generation Intervention Trial, which started in 1993 and initially consisted of 678 urban first-graders from 9 elementary schools located in western Baltimore. In 11th grade, gambling behavior and disorders were screened through the SOGS-RA (South Oaks Gambling Screen, adolescent- version) in 515 predominantly African-American adolescents (88%). Multinomial logistic regression models (outcomes: no problem gambling, at-risk gambling and problem gambling) were used to test associations of gambling with lifetime and past-year drug use, past year drug abuse/dependence, lifetime and past-year conduct disorders, and with past-year deviant peer affiliation. Results: Incidence of problem and at-risk gambling were 2.72% and 5.28%, respectively. Lifetime and past-year tobacco, marijuana (past-year OR:4.8) and ecstasy use (past-year OR:17.7) signaled increased risk of at-risk gambling. Risk of problem gambling was higher for those with versus without lifetime tobacco and marijuana use and past-year marijuana (OR:5.9) and ecstasy use (OR:13.0). Past-year ecstasy abuse and marijuana dependence signaled increased risk of at-risk and problem gambling, past-year alcohol abuse (OR:14.1) signaled increased risk of problem gambling. Lifetime conduct disorder was significantly associated with at-risk (OR:5.8) and problem gambling (OR:6.6); past-year high affiliation with deviant peers signaled increased risk of at-risk gambling (OR:3.6). Conclusion: Adolescent gambling seems to be strongly associated with adolescent drug and conduct disorders, and might share the same developmental roots.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this session the attendents will be able to

1.Recognize gambling disorders in adolescence as a public health problem
• Describe the association of gambling disorders in adolescence with drug use disorders and deviant behaviors
• Discuss prevention strategies to minimize gambling disorders in adolescence

Keywords: Adolescents, African American

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.