Taking chances: problem gamblers and mental health disorders--results from the St. Louis Epidemiologic Catchment Area Study.

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: This study determined prevalence estimates of problem gambling and relationships to other psychiatric and substance use disorders. METHODS: In 1981, the Diagnostic Interview Schedule was used to collect epidemiological information on problem gambling and other disorders from 3004 adults in St. Louis, Mo. RESULTS: The lifetime prevalence of pathological gambling was 0.9%; 46% of those surveyed gambled recreationally. Problem gamblers (those reporting at least one gambling-related problem) were 9.2% of the sample and were predominately White (69%), male (78.2%), and young than nongamblers. They were at increased risk for several psychiatric diagnoses, especially for antisocial personality disorder, alcoholism, and tobacco dependence. CONCLUSIONS: Clinicians treating alcoholism and tobacco dependence may need to screen for problem gambling. Additional research in the context of increased gambling opportunities is needed.

Compulsive Aspects of Impulse-Control Disorders

“…For example, in samples of subjects who have PG, rates of co-occurring OCD have ranged from 1% to 20% [5], with some, but not all, studies finding higher rates of OCD (approximately 2%) than found in the general population. The St. Louis Epidemiologic Catchment Area study, however, found no significant relationship between problem gambling and OCD (an odds ratio of 0.6 for OCD in problem gamblers as compared with non-gamblers) [13]. Although this study collected data in the 1980s, it is the only study published to date in which a community sample was assessed for DSM-based diagnoses for both OCD and PG.…”

“…Although studies of small OCD samples have reported PG rates ranging from 2.2% to 2.6% [14,15], a recently completed study of a large sample of subjects who had primary OCD (n = 293) found rates of current (0.3%) and lifetime (1.0%) PG [16] that were no greater than those in the general population (0.7-1.6%) [13]. These recent findings are consistent with those from a sample of more than 2000 individuals who had OCD in which both current and past rates of PG were lower than 1% [17].…”

Drinkers and bettors: Investigating the complementarity of alcohol consumption and problem gambling

“…Schissel (2001) suggested that youth may gamble in response to their feelings of disempowerment from society. Published research has associated various measures of socioeconomic status, including education (Cunningham-Williams et al, 1998), employment (Feigelman et al, 1998;Kearney, 2005b), and income (Kearney, 2005b) with problematic gambling. Individuals with lower socioeconomic status may consider gambling a form of investment (Weiss, 1988) and an escape from poverty (Schissel, 2001).…”

“…The literature suggests that higher rates of alcohol use are present among pathological gamblers as compared to the general population (Cunningham-Williams et al, 1998;Maccallum and Blaszczynski, 2002;Toneatto et al, 2002), problem gambling is more common among individuals with alcohol use disorders as compared to those without such disorders (Grant et al, 2002), alcohol use is a risk factor for pathological gambling (Welte et al, 2004b), and gambling and excessive alcohol consumption are co-occurring activities (Elia and Jacobs, 1993).…”

Mental Health and Gambling in Urban Female Adolescents

“…Little is known about characteristics associated with gambling in urban, predominantly African-American youth despite the high rates of gambling problems among African-Americans [4]. Research has indicated that gender considerations are important in understanding youth gambling and the relationship between gambling and psychiatric problems in adolescents [1][2].…”