Abstract
Motivational characteristics such as excitement-seeking are key components of models of addiction, including problem gambling. Previous studies have established associations between excitement-seeking and problem gambling in youth. However, these studies have employed dimensional psychological assessments which are unlikely to be routinely administered. Other approaches to conceptualize excitement-seeking could be of value. In the present study, we employed a single question (What are the reasons that you gamble?) to identify adolescents who reported excitement-seeking motivation for gambling. Cross-sectional data from 2030 adolescent gamblers who participated in a Connecticut high-school survey were examined. Gambling perceptions and correlates of problem-gambling severity were examined relative to excitement-seeking and non-excitement-seeking gambling. Gambling perceptions were more permissive and at-risk/problem gambling was more frequent among adolescents with excitement-seeking gambling versus non-excitement-seeking gambling. A weaker relationship between problem-gambling severity and moderate and heavy alcohol use was observed for excitement-seeking versus non-excitement-seeking gambling. Excitement-seeking gambling is associated with more permissive gambling-related attitudes and riskier gambling behaviors and may account for some variance in adolescent risk of heavy alcohol use. A single question may provide important information for identifying adolescents who are at elevated risk of problem gambling and associated negative outcomes, although the utility of the question in specific settings warrants direct examination, especially given the observed high prevalence of excitement-seeking motivations for gambling.
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Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health (Grant Numbers R01 DA019039, RL1 AA017539); Connecticut Mental Health Center, the Connecticut State Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, the Connecticut Council on Problem Gambling, and a Center of Excellence in Gambling Research Award from the National Center for Responsible Gaming. The funding agencies had no role in data collection or analysis or in the decision to submit the paper for publication.
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The authors have no pertinent disclosures and declare that they have no conflict of interest. Over the past 3 years, Dr. Potenza has received financial support (to Yale or personally) for the following. He has consulted for and advised Game Day Data, Addiction Policy Forum, and Opiant Therapeutics; received research support from the Mohegan Sun Casino and the National Center for Responsible Gaming; consulted for or advised legal and gambling entities on issues related to impulse control and addictive behaviors; provided clinical care related to impulse-control and addictive behaviors; performed grant reviews; edited journals/journal sections; given academic lectures in grand rounds, CME events and other clinical/scientific venues; and generated books or chapters for publishers of mental health texts. The other authors report no disclosures.
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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee (include name of committee + reference number) and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.
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Procedures were approved by the IRB at the Yale School of Medicine. After obtaining permission from school parties, parental consent was obtained through passive consent procedures. Specifically, parents received a letter sent through each school explaining the study, and if they did not want their children to participate in the survey, they were to reply to the letter; if no reply was received, parental consent was considered granted. All adolescents who participated in the survey were properly informed about the study and provided opportunities not to participate.
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Farhat, L.C., Wampler, J., Steinberg, M.A. et al. Excitement-Seeking Gambling in Adolescents: Health Correlates and Gambling-Related Attitudes and Behaviors. J Gambl Stud 37, 43–57 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-020-09960-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-020-09960-3