Young adults' gambling and its association with mental health and substance use problems

Hayatbakhsh, Mohammad R., Clavarino, Alexandra, Williams, Gail M., Bor, William and Najman, Jake M. (2012) Young adults' gambling and its association with mental health and substance use problems. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 36 2: 160-166.


Author Hayatbakhsh, Mohammad R.
Clavarino, Alexandra
Williams, Gail M.
Bor, William
Najman, Jake M.
Title Young adults' gambling and its association with mental health and substance use problems
Journal name Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health  (ERA 2012 Listed)    (ERA 2010 Rank B)   Check publisher's open access policy
Publication date 2012-04
Sub-type Article
DOI 10.1111/j.1753-6405.2011.00815.x
Volume number 36
Issue number 2
ISSN 1326-0200; 1753-6405
Start page 160
End page 166
Total pages 7
Place of publication Richmond, Vic., Australia
Publisher Wiley-Blackwell Publishing
Collection year 2013
Language eng
Formatted abstract Objective: To examine the socio-demographic characteristics of young adults’ gambling and its association with mental health and substance use behaviour.
Methods: The study is based on 3,512 young adults (1648 males) for whom data from the Mater-University of Queensland Study of Pregnancy (MUSP) were available on self-report gambling, gambling expenditure, Achenbach's Young Adult Self Report and substance use at the 21-year follow-up of the MUSP. The participants’ age ranged between 18.2 and 23.6 (mean = 20.6, standard deviation = 0.8) years.
Results: Two-fifths of the young adults reported gambling. Males reported more money spent on gambling and were significantly more likely to be at risk of problem gambling. Gambling and problem gambling were significantly more common in less-educated individuals, those who had higher income or those who had a paid job. Individuals who reported gambling were more likely to smoke cigarettes, drink more than a glass of alcohol per day, use illicit drugs, or exhibit high levels of externalising behaviour than non-gamblers.
Conclusions: The findings confirm the high prevalence of gambling and gambling expenditure in young adults. Individuals who are involved in gambling are more likely to report cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, and use of illicit drugs. There is a need for further research to explore the mechanisms of association between gambling behaviour and individuals’ mental health and substance use.
Implications: Substance abuse and mental health services are recommended to consider co-morbid gambling problems in treatment-seeking patients.
Keyword Young adult
Gambling
Problem gambling
Mental health
Substance use
Q-Index Code C1
Q-Index Status Confirmed Code
Institutional Status UQ

Document type: Journal Article
Sub-type: Article
Collections: Official 2013 Collection
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