Characteristics of adolescent past-year gamblers and non-gamblers in relation to alcohol drinking

A preliminary examination of mental health and gambling characteristics as a function of alcohol use in adolescents was conducted in a nationally representative sample of 16- and 17-year-olds using data from the 1998 Gambling Impact and Behavior Study. Adolescents were stratified by past-year alcohol use into abstainers/low-frequency (ALF) drinkers and moderate to high-frequency (MHF) drinkers as done previously [Desai, R. A., Maciejewski, P. K., Pantalon, M. V., & Potenza, M. N. (in press). Gender differences among recreational gamblers: Association with the frequency of alcohol use. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors]. A greater proportion of MHF drinkers reported past-year gambling than did ALF drinkers (66.1% vs. 38.2%). In the ALF drinking group but not the MHF one, past-year gambling was associated with dysphoria/depression (odds ratio for ALF: 1.94, odds ratio for MHF: 0.88) and drug use (odds ratio for ALF: 2.57, odds ratio for MHF: 0.49). A significant gambling-by-alcohol-use group interaction was observed for drug use (p < 0.01). Among past-year gamblers, MHF drinkers were more likely than ALF ones to report frequent gambling. These results suggest a complex relationship between gambling alcohol use, drug use, and mental health in adolescents.