Gambling has become one of the most frequently reported addictive behaviors among young people. Understanding risk factors associated with the onset or maintenance of gambling problems in adolescence has implications for its prevention and treatment. The main aim of the present study was to examine the potential relationships between impulsivity and problem gambling in adolescence. Participants were 874 high school students (average age: 15 years old) who were surveyed to provide data on gambling and impulsivity. Self-reported gambling behavior was assessed using the South Oaks Gambling Screen – Revised for Adolescents (SOGS-RA) and impulsivity was measured using the Impulsive Sensation Seeking Questionnaire (ZKPQ), the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11-A), and a delay discounting task. The data were analyzed using both a prospective-longitudinal and a cross-sectional design. In the longitudinal analyses, results showed that the impulsivity subscale of the ZKPQ increased the risk of problem gambling (p = 0.003). In the cross-sectional analyses, all the impulsivity measures were higher in at-risk/problem gamblers than in non-problem gamblers (p = 0.04; 0.03; and 0.01, respectively). These findings further support the relationship between impulsivity and gambling in adolescence. Moreover, our findings suggest a bidirectional relationship between impulsivity and problem gambling in adolescence. These results have consequences for the development of prevention and treatment programs for adolescents with gambling problems.

Although alcohol, tobacco and cannabis are the most prevalent drugs used by adolescents, gambling is a growing concern due to its increasing popularity. To date there have been few studies exploring the existing patterns of concurrent use of drugs and gambling in adolescents. This study aims to identify subpopulations of adolescents using different substances and gambling activities, to explore gender differences and to examine impulsivity as a predictor of class membership. A cross-sectional survey was carried out in 22 highschools, and 1,644 adolescents were assessed (54.1% males; mean age = 15.21 years, SD = 0.75). Participants reported their last-year frequency of using alcohol, tobacco and cannabis, as well as bingo, poker, other casino games, sports betting, lottery, scratch tickets and electronic gaming machines. Problem drinking was evaluated with the Rutgers Alcohol Problems Index, and gambling severity with the South Oaks Gambling Scale for Adolescents. Impulsivity was assessed using a Delay Discounting task, the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale and the Impulsive Sensation-Seeking Scale. Based on a latent class model of drugs and gambling activities, four subpopulations of males and five of females were found. General impulsivity and sensation seeking were the most consistent predictors of class membership. These novel findings support the need to consider specific groups of adolescents engaging in different patterns of addictive behaviors when implementing selective prevention strategies.

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Gambling has been considered a male pastime with research focused on exploring risk factors for gambling without considering gender differences. Despite gambling has greatly increased among women in recent years, few studies have explored gender differences in adolescent gamblers. This study analyzed gender differences in risk factors and gambling-related patterns. The sample comprised 1756 adolescents aged 14 to 17 years. Chisquare and t-tests were performed to examine differences between male and female gamblers (n = 699). Multiple regressions were conducted to explore predictors of gambling severity by gender. Male gamblers reported more gambling activity within the last year and showed a more severe gambling pattern. Impulsivity, last year prevalence of bingo, and other casino games were associated with higher gambling severity in both genders. Enhancement and coping motives were related to gambling severity only in males, while mixed-mode gambling was related to gambling severity in females. Our findings extend the research on gender differences among adolescent gamblers by showing that gender specific risk factors exist and should be regarded by health providers when designing treatment strategies.

Within-person levels of self-reported impulsivity and sensation seeking significantly predicted further heavy drinking from as early as 13 years old, whereas behavioral measures were not predictive. In our study, neither IE nor ARP predicted prospective changes in impulsivity. Further studies should address additional specific relationships between facets of impulsivity and specific outcomes of heavy drinking.