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Impulsivity predicts problem gambling in low SES adolescent males
F Vitaro1, L Arseneault, R E Tremblay
1Research Unit on Children's Psycho-Social Maladjustment, University of Montréal, Canada. vitaro@ere.umontreal.ca
Addiction (Abingdon, England)
|December 22, 1999
Summary
Impulsivity in early adolescence, particularly an inability to foresee consequences, predicts problem gambling later in life. This finding holds true regardless of other personality traits like aggressiveness or anxiety.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Addiction Research
Background:
- Problem gambling is a significant public health concern with complex etiological factors.
- Previous research has explored personality correlates of problem gambling, but longitudinal prediction remains underexplored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if impulsivity in early adolescence predicts problem gambling in late adolescence.
- To determine if impulsivity predicts problem gambling independently of other personality factors like aggressiveness and anxiety.
Main Methods:
- A prospective-longitudinal study design was employed.
- 154 adolescent boys from economically deprived neighborhoods participated.
- Impulsivity was assessed using self-reports, teacher ratings, and laboratory tasks in early adolescence; gambling behavior was assessed at age 17.
Main Results:
- Self-reported impulsivity and a card-sorting task significantly predicted problem gambling at age 17.
- These predictions remained significant after controlling for socio-demographic variables, early gambling behavior, aggressiveness, and anxiety.
- Impulsivity appeared to reflect deficits in anticipating negative outcomes and response inhibition.
Conclusions:
- Adolescents exhibiting impulsivity, characterized by response modulation deficits, are at higher risk for developing problem gambling.
- Findings support the classification of pathological gambling as an impulse control disorder, aligning with DSM-IV criteria.