November 2002
Like most states, Florida does not allow gambling by persons under age 18. A recent epidemiological study found that 70% of teens ages 13-17 reported that they had gambled during their lifetime. The median age for starting to gamble was 12.5. Underage use of alcohol, marijuana, crack or cocaine, and stimulants - along with tobacco use - was "strongly and significantly" associated with gambling in the study.
Martin Lazoritz and his colleagues at the University of Florida selected 1,051 Florida adolescents at random and interviewed them over the telephone (after obtaining their parents' consent). 18.5% of the participants said that they had bought a State of Florida lottery ticket at some point in their life, while 12.5% reported purchasing lottery tickets in the past year.
The entire study has not been published, but summaries are available. The summaries available don't seem to suggest that teenage gambling is a huge problem, but they do suggest that gambling is associated with substance abuse.
In a copyrighted Reuters Health story, Lazoritz is quoted as saying "Based on established psychiatric criteria, 3.8% of the respondents were problem or pathological gamblers. Problem or pathological gamblers are more likely to be preoccupied with gambling, to use gambling to escape, and to 'chase their losses' by continuing to gamble in order to recover prior gambling-related losses. Other warning signs are a sense of losing control while gambling, risking important relationships, and needing to borrow money from others to pay gambling-related debts."
Just as many people who drink do not develop drinking problems, many people who gamble do not develop gambling problems. Those who do develop substance abuse problems may be more likely to develop a gambling problem. Casual observation reveals this connection. There are no smoking restrictions in the casinos in Las Vegas.
Modern definitions or addiction center around the concept of "compulsive use despite harm." This definition allows for addictions to behaviors such as gambling. Mark Griffiths used a similar concept when studying pathological Internet addiction. Griffiths used the following concepts:
- Salience: the activity or drug becomes the most important activity in a person's life
- Mood modification: feeling a buzz or high, or feeling numb or tranquil.
- Tolerance: Increasing amounts of the substance or activity are needed over time to produce the same euphoric effect.
- Withdrawal symptoms: unpleasant feeling states which occur when the substance or activity is removed.
- Conflict: Interpersonal conflict because of the substance or activity, and intrapersonal conflict within the individual.
- Relapse: the tendency to repeatedly revert to earlier pathological patterns of use, and for the most extreme patterns of use to be quickly restored after many years of control or abstinence. (summarized from Griffiths, 1997)
Whether we consider severe gambling problems to be addictions or not, they can clearly ruin lives. Treatment programs often use the same principles as substance abuse treatment programs. Many adults gamble occasionally and it does not wreck their lives. If your gambling is becoming a problem, consider getting help through the resources listed in the box to the right.
References:
- Griffiths, Mark. Does internet and computer "addiction" exist?: some case study evidence. Paper presented at the Annual Conference of American Psychological Association, August 1997.
- Lazoritz, Martin. Teen Gambling: Evidence from the University of Florida's Statewide Epidemiological Study. Paper presented at American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry's (AACAP) 49th Annual Meeting, October 2002.
