Gambling opportunities have increased greatly since the 1970s and there is evidence that gambling and pathological gambling are linked to substance use and a complex network of addiction behaviors, especially alcohol and other drug abuse. Due to the changing modalities of gambling, special populations including women, young adults, minorities, and the elderly may be at increased risk for problems associated with gambling and substance use. Despite the increasing public concern about gambling, there has not been a national survey of gambling since 1974. There has never been a national survey of gambling and substance use. To address these issues, the investigators propose a national telephone survey of gambling, alcohol use, and illicit drug use among a representative sample of respondents age 18 and older in the U.S. The study will include assessments of substance use patterns and gambling behavior, as well as DSM-IV measures for alcohol dependence, drug dependence and pathological gambling. Sociodemographic information will be collected to determine the patterns of addictive behaviors within gender, age, racial/ethnic and socioeconomic groups. In addition, each respondent's individual-level interview data will be linked with ecological data including tract-level census data, the neighborhood-level PRIZM classification (a system of classifying neighborhoods by sub-culture using census data, market and political surveys, and consumer behavior), and state/regional level data on gambling laws and regulations. A geographic information system will be used to determine the proximity of the respondent's home to major gambling establishments, e.g., race tracks, casinos, and high stake bingo establishments.
The Specific Aims are to study the correlation of gambling with substance abuse, to examine the common predictors of gambling behavior and substance abuse, to determine the prevalence of pathological gambling and gambling behaviors among various demographic groups, to determine the chronological trend in gambling behaviors and pathological gambling, to study the relationship of gambling and substance use to ecological factors and neighborhood sub-culture, and to investigate the effect of the availability factors such as state gambling laws and distance from tracks or casinos on actual gambling behaviors.
| Welte, John W; Barnes, Grace M; Tidwell, Marie-Cecile O et al. (2015) Gambling and Problem Gambling in the United States: Changes Between 1999 and 2013. J Gambl Stud 31:695-715 |
| Welte, John W; Barnes, Grace M; Tidwell, Marie-Cecile O et al. (2011) Gambling and problem gambling across the lifespan. J Gambl Stud 27:49-61 |
| Barnes, Grace M; Welte, John W; Tidwell, Marie-Cecile O et al. (2011) Gambling on the lottery: sociodemographic correlates across the lifespan. J Gambl Stud 27:575-86 |
| York, James L; Welte, John; Hirsch, Judith (2005) Regulation of alcohol intake with advancing age. Alcohol 36:41-6 |
| York, James L; Welte, John; Hirsch, Judith et al. (2004) Association of age at first drink with current alcohol drinking variables in a national general population sample. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 28:1379-87 |
| Welte, John W; Barnes, Grace M; Wieczorek, William F et al. (2004) Gambling participation and pathology in the United States--a sociodemographic analysis using classification trees. Addict Behav 29:983-9 |
| York, James L; Welte, John; Hirsch, Judith (2003) Gender comparison of alcohol exposure on drinking occasions. J Stud Alcohol 64:790-801 |
| Welte, J; Barnes, G; Wieczorek, W et al. (2001) Alcohol and gambling pathology among U.S. adults: prevalence, demographic patterns and comorbidity. J Stud Alcohol 62:706-12 |
