Compounded effect of early adolescence depressive symptoms and impulsivity on late adolescence gambling: a longitudinal study.
OBJECTIVE
Depression and impulsivity have been positively correlated to problem gambling, but no study has focused on their combined effects on the onset of problem gambling. This study examined the possible synergistic effect of depressive symptoms and impulsivity in early adolescence on late adolescence gambling behaviors among a longitudinal cohort of 678 students from Baltimore, Maryland.


METHODS
The South Oaks Gambling Screen-Revised for Adolescents, Teacher Observation of Classroom Adaptation-Revised, and Baltimore How I Feel-Adolescent Version, were used to assess late adolescence gambling behaviors, early adolescence impulsivity, and depressive symptoms, respectively. Data analyses were conducted using analysis of variance and binary logistic regression models.


RESULTS
Problem gamblers (PGs) were 12% of the sample (includes at-risk and PGs), 87.5% of whom were males and 12.5% were females (p < .001). Among males, there appeared to be a slight association between early adolescence depressive symptoms and late adolescence problem gambling. Compared with nongamblers and social gamblers, depressive symptoms increased the odds of problem gambling by four-fold (PGs vs. nongamblers: OR = 4.1, 95% CI = .73-22.47, p = .11; PGs vs. social gamblers: OR = 3.9, 95% CI = .78-19.31, p = .10). Among those with high depressive symptoms, increases in impulsivity decreased the odds of problem gambling while among those with high impulsivity, increases in depressive symptoms decreased the odds of problem gambling.


CONCLUSIONS
Early adolescence depressive symptoms appear to be more positively associated with late adolescence problem gambling than early adolescence impulsivity, there seems to be a divisive interaction between depressive symptoms and impulsivity on problem gambling.
Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 642 N. Broadway, Baltimore, MD 21205-1900, USA.
Grace P
GP
Lee
Carla L
CL
Storr
Nicholas S
NS
Ialongo
Silvia S
SS
Martins
D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology; D015142:Baltimore / Q000453:epidemiology; D015897:Comorbidity; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D004493:Education / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D005715:Gambling / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007175:Impulsive Behavior / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D018570:Risk Assessment; D013995:Time
Am J Community Psychol. 1999 Oct;27(5):599-641
10676542
J Abnorm Child Psychol. 1990 Dec;18(6):683-97
2074346
Psychol Addict Behav. 2008 Jun;22(2):257-68
18540723
Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2001 Mar;58(3):231-6
11231829
J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2000 Jan;39(1):28-38
10638065
Paediatr Child Health. 2007 Mar;12(3):199-204
19030359
Health Psychol. 1996 Sep;15(5):344-54
8891713
Can J Psychiatry. 1999 Jun;44(5):483-7
10389610
Am J Psychiatry. 2003 Jun;160(6):1041-52
12777258
Psychol Methods. 2008 Mar;13(1):1-18
18331150
Am J Community Psychol. 1991 Aug;19(4):585-602
1755437
Am J Psychiatry. 2001 Nov;158(11):1783-93
11691682
J Health Soc Behav. 2003 Mar;44(1):34-44
12751309
Depress Anxiety. 1998;7(1):3-14
9592628
J Gambl Stud. 1995 Jun;11(2):165-83
24233428
Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. 2006 Dec;1(3):165-74
18985103
Psychol Med. 2006 Jul;36(7):943-53
16650342
Child Dev. 1994 Apr;65(2 Spec No):296-318
7516849
J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 1993 Jan;32(1):34-42
8428882
J Gambl Stud. 1998 Winter;14(4):319-345
12766444
J Gambl Stud. 1991 Sep;7(3):249-54
24243070
Can J Psychiatry. 2000 Jun;45(5):465-70
10900527
J Affect Disord. 1999 Jun;53(3):211-5
10404706