Problem Gambling and the Youth-to-Adulthood Transition: Assessing Problem Gambling Severity Trajectories in a Sample of Young Adults

In this study, using four wave longitudinal data, we examined problem gambling severity trajectories in a sample of young adults. Using latent growth curve modeling, we examined how initial level of problem gambling severity and the rate of change were affected by 11 time-invariant predictors: gende...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of gambling studies 2015-12, Vol.31 (4), p.1463-1485
Main Authors: Edgerton, Jason D., Melnyk, Timothy S., Roberts, Lance W.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Addictive behaviors
Adolescent
Adult
Canada
Child development
Community and Environmental Psychology
Comorbidity
Depression - epidemiology
Depression - psychology
Economics
Female
Gambling
Gambling - epidemiology
Gambling - psychology
Humans
Internal-External Control
Internet - utilization
Legalized gambling
Longitudinal studies
Male
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Original Paper
Psychiatry
Social Identification
Social Support
Sociology
Students - psychology
Studies
Substance-Related Disorders - epidemiology
Substance-Related Disorders - psychology
Young Adult
Young adults
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Summary:In this study, using four wave longitudinal data, we examined problem gambling severity trajectories in a sample of young adults. Using latent growth curve modeling, we examined how initial level of problem gambling severity and the rate of change were affected by 11 time-invariant predictors: gender, age of onset of gambling, experiencing a big win early in gambling career, experiencing a big loss early in gambling career, alcohol dependence, drug dependence, anxiety, depression, perceived social support, illusion of control, and impulsiveness. Five of the eleven predictors affected initial levels of problem gambling severity; however only impulsiveness affected the rate of change across time. The mean trajectory was negative (lessening of problem gambling risk severity across time), but there was significant inter-individual variation in trajectories and initial levels of problem gambling severity. The main finding of problem gambling risk diminishing over time challenges the conventional picture of problem gambling as an inevitable “downward spiral,” at least among young adults, and suggests that targeted prevention campaigns may be a cost-effective alternative for reaching treatment resistant youth.
ISSN:1573-3602
1573-3602
DOI:10.1007/s10899-014-9501-2