Comparison of problem-gambling and non-problem-gambling youths seeking treatment for marijuana abuse

To evaluate the prevalence and correlates of problem gambling (PG) in marijuana-abusing adolescents.

A retrospective analysis was conducted of data collected from participants entering treatment for marijuana abuse in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Hartford, Connecticut, between 1998 and 2000.

Of 255 adolescents interviewed, 22% experienced gambling problems. Compared with non-problem gamblers (NPGs), PGs were more likely to be male, of African-American ethnicity, and to live in single-parent homes. Multivariate general linear models compared the two groups with respect to psychosocial problems. After controlling for age, gender, and race, differences between the groups emerged in drug use severity, legal difficulties, psychiatric problems, and human immunodeficiency virus risk behaviors. PGs reported a greater frequency of overall drug and alcohol use and greater intensity of marijuana use than their NPG counterparts. They had more illegal activity and greater somatization and anxiety symptoms, as well as higher levels of victimization. Compared with NPGs, PGs also reported more recent sexual partners.

These data suggest that PG is common in marijuana-abusing youths and that they have increased psychosocial problems. These data suggest the need for early identification and treatment of PG in substance-abusing adolescents.