This study explored the relation between gambling behavior among college students and the perceived environment, the component of problem behavior theory (Jessor & Jessor, 1977) that assesses the ways that youth perceive their parents and peers. Two hundred and thirty-three ethnically diverse undergraduates at a large urban public university completed a questionnaire to measure the perceived environment and the South Oaks Gambling Screen to assess gambling behavior and problems. The perceived environment accounted for significant variance in gambling problems and gambling frequency, with proximal components displaying stronger relations than distal components to the dependent variables. Men displayed higher rates than women of problem but not pathological gambling. These results provide further evidence of the salience of perceptions of parent and peer influences for understanding college gambling and support the perceived environment as a useful conceptualization of these perceptions. Directions for future research and suggestions for student service professionals are considered.

Background Cancer survivors transfused with blood products prior to reliable screening for hepatitis C virus (HCV) are at risk for infection. We examined the impact of HCV on neurocognitive function and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among adult survivors of childhood cancer. Methods Neurocognitive testing was conducted in 836 adult survivors of childhood cancer (mean[SD] age=35[7.4] years; time since diagnosis=29[6.2] years) who received blood products prior to universal HCV screening. No differences were observed between confirmed HCV-seropositive (n=79) and seronegative survivors (n=757) in primary diagnosis or neurotoxic therapies. Multivariable regression models were used to compare functional outcomes between seropositive and seronegative survivors. Results Compared to seronegative survivors, seropositive survivors demonstrated lower performance on measures of attention (P<.001), processing speed (P=.008), long-term verbal memory (P=.01) and executive function (P=.001). Adjusting for gender, age at diagnosis, and treatment exposures, seropositive survivors had higher prevalence of impairment in processing speed (PR=1.3; 95% CI: 1.1-1.6) and executive functioning (PR=1.3; 95% CI: 1.1-1.6). Differences were not associated with treatment of HCV or the presence of liver cirrhosis. Seropositive survivors reported worse general HRQOL (PR=1.6; 95% CI: 1.2-2.1), which was associated with the presence of liver cirrhosis (P=.001). Conclusions Survivors of childhood cancer with history of HCV infection are at risk for neurocognitive impairment and reduced HRQOL, beyond the known risks associated with neurotoxic cancer therapies. Condensed Abstract HCV-seropositive survivors demonstrate poorer neurocognitive function and health-related quality-of-life compared to HCV-seronegative survivors. Diagnosis of liver cirrhosis does not account for the poorer neurocognitive function observed in this cohort.