title: Prediction of alcohol and gambling problems in young adults by using a measure of decision making.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Individuals who regularly gamble, regularly consume alcohol, or meet criteria for an alcohol-use disorder or pathological gambling may make riskier decisions on cognitive tasks. What remains unclear in the literature is whether these decision-making deficits precede or result from these addictive behaviors. This study aimed to determine whether risky decision making on a cognitive task is predictive of increasing gambling behaviors and alcohol use.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty-eight young adults (aged 18-29 years) free from Axis I disorders and reporting no symptoms of at-risk gambling behavior or alcohol consumption, who were participating in a longitudinal study of impulsivity, were grouped as either high-risk decision makers (n = 29) or low-risk decision makers (n = 29) by using the Cambridge Gamble Task. Subjects were assessed at 1-year follow-up to examine gambling frequency, alcohol consumption, at-risk alcohol-use criteria, alcohol-use disorder criteria, at-risk gambling criteria, and pathological gambling criteria.
  
  
  RESULTS
  High-risk decision makers were found to be more likely to meet at-risk criteria for alcohol use after 1 year. Decision-making group membership was not significantly correlated with frequency of gambling or development of pathological gambling or alcohol-use disorder over 1 year.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A variable measuring risky decision making on the Cambridge Gambling Task may be able to predict who is more likely to increase alcohol use per session later in life.
authors.affiliation: From the Department of Psychiatry (AMH, LRNS), University of Minnesota Medical Center, Minneapolis; and Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Neuroscience (JEG), Pritzker School of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL.
authors.forename: Arit M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Harvanko
authors.forename: Liana R N
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Schreiber
authors.forename: Jon E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Grant
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000523:psychology; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology; D003071:Cognition; D003617:Dangerous Behavior; D003657:Decision Making; D056344:Executive Function; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005715:Gambling / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D007175:Impulsive Behavior / Q000150:complications*; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011379:Prognosis; D012309:Risk-Taking