Remember a while back there was a flurry of stories about how seniors that gambled were healthier than those who didn’t? At the time, I predicted that before long there would be another study that contradicted those findings.
Well, the other shoe has dropped. Here comes a study, from Yale no less, that claims (based on a statistical sample of 1076) that teenagers who gambled were more likely to use drugs and alcohol than those who didn’t. From Yahoo News:
Young gamblers also reported higher rates of addiction to alcohol or drugs, and appeared to be at higher risk of depression. Moreover, adults who started gambling before age 18 were also more likely to report using drugs and drinking alcohol, and be addicted to both, than adults who did not gamble.These findings suggest that unhealthy habits may be contagious, Dr. Wendy J. Lynch told Reuters Health, and starting to gamble early in life puts people at particular risk of having problems immediately or later in life.
Just why getting an early start on gambling appears to up the risk of other problems is unclear, she said. People who gamble at young ages may simply have a “vulnerable personality” to other unhealthy behaviors, or the “thrill-seeking” nature of gambling may sensitize them to other, thrill-seeking activities like drugs and alcohol.
“I don’t know that one thing causes the other,” the researcher, based at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, said.
Regardless, gambling among teenagers may serve as a warning sign that they are at risk, Lynch said, and dealing with the gambling may help protect them from other troubles.
Despite the fact that gambling is largely illegal for teenagers, up to 90 percent of people between the ages of 12 and 17 say they have gambled within the last year, according to the Archives of General Psychiatry report.
For feedback, here’s John Noslots, and antigambler, and Juan A. Winmore, a gambling industry advocate:
John: This study proves that gambling is bad. People who gamble also drink and use drugs. Clearly, gambling is a form of self-destructive behavior.
Juan: I don’t think so. As far as alcohol goes, this study hardly posits a link between alcohol abuse and gambler; it defines alcohol use as one or two drinks a month, something well within accepted social practices. Some doctors even tout the health benefits of a daily glass of red wine.
John: It certainly seems that if young gamblers also drink and use drugs, there might be a common underlying personality trait that drives people to compulsive behavior.
Juan: While I don’t condone doing anything to excess, I’m not seeing any evidence of that here. In fact, the young people in the survey said they usually gambled for social reasons, not to win or lose money. It could be that the young gamblers are simply more socialized into their peer group.
John: But you can’t deny that this study provides some statistical proof for the anecdotal evidence of casinos as places where people drink, smoke, and gamble to excess. The people there are jsut pre-disposed to thrill seeking behaviors.
Juan: Again, I’m just not seeing that. I’d hardly describe having one or two beers a month as thrill seeking. I don’t see this study as saying anything about whether gambling is morally, economically, or psychologically good or bad.
Clearly, this debate will continue.