An Empirical Examinination of Jacobs' General Theory of Addictions: Do Adolescent Gamblers Fit the Theory?

The present study examines 817 adolescent High School students' gambling behavior. Participants completed the DSM-IV-J, a gambling screen examining severity of gambling problems along with the High School Personality Questionnaire (HSPQ), the Reynolds Adolescent Depression Scale (RADS) and a questionnaire devised by the authors inquiring about gambling behavior, substance abuse, alcohol consumption, and cigarette smoking. The study seeks to test the Jacobs' (1986) General Theory of Addictions, using problem and pathological adolescent gamblers as the prototype to test the model. The results obtained through path analysis and logistic regression suggest that Jacobs' theory is a plausible and likely explanation for the development of a gambling addiction amongst adolescents. The clinical implications are addressed.

[1]  R. Kline,et al.  Latent variable path analysis in clinical research: a beginner's tour guide. , 1991, Journal of clinical psychology.

[2]  P. A. Harrison,et al.  Comparisons of alcohol and other drug problems among Minnesota adolescents in 1989 and 1992. , 1995, Archives of pediatrics & adolescent medicine.

[3]  J. Derevensky,et al.  Adolescent Gambling Behavior: A Prevalence Study and Examination of the Correlates Associated with Problem Gambling , 2004, Journal of Gambling Studies.

[4]  D. Lester,et al.  Suicidal behavior among members of Gamblers Anonymous , 1991, Journal of Gambling Studies.

[5]  Mark D. Griffiths,et al.  The observational study of adolescent gambling in UK amusement arcades , 1991 .

[6]  H. Shaffer,et al.  Quitting Cocaine: The Struggle Against Impulse , 1988 .

[7]  A. Blaszczynski,et al.  Anxiety and/or depression in the pathogenesis of addictive gambling. , 1989, The International journal of the addictions.

[8]  D. F. Jacobs,et al.  Adolescent gambling and problem gambling in Alberta : final report , 1996 .

[9]  M. Mateo,et al.  The Catalonia survey: Personality and intelligence structure in a sample of compulsive gamblers , 1991, Journal of Gambling Studies.

[10]  A. Blaszczynski,et al.  Pathological gamblers, heroin addicts and controls compared on the E.P.Q. 'Addiction Scale'. , 1985, British journal of addiction.

[11]  R. McCormick.  Pathological gambling: A parsimonious need state model , 2005, Journal of gambling behavior.

[12]  D. Clarke,et al.  Adolescent Gambling and Problem Gambling: A New Zealand Study , 2000 .

[13]  B. Flay,et al.  Prospective correlates of exclusive or combined adolescent use of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco: a replication-extension. , 1995, Addictive behaviors.

[14]  H. Cookson.  Personality variables associated with alcohol use in young offenders , 1994 .

[15]  E. Griffin‐Shelley,et al.  Multiple addictions among dually diagnosed adolescents , 1992 .

[16]  S. Fisher,et al.  The Pull of the Fruit Machine: A Sociological Typology of Young Players , 1993 .

[17]  R. McCormick,et al.  Affective disorders among pathological gamblers seeking treatment. , 1984, The American journal of psychiatry.

[18]  R. McCormick,et al.  Plasma Cortisol and Depression in Pathological Gamblers , 1988, British Journal of Psychiatry.

[19]  M. Zuckerman,et al.  Sensation seeking, trait, and state anxiety, and the electrodermal orienting response. , 1976, Psychophysiology.

[20]  P. L. Carlton,et al.  Attention deficit disorder and pathological gambling. , 1987, The Journal of clinical psychiatry.

[21]  H. Quay,et al.  PSYCHOPATHIC PERSONALITY AS PATHOLOGICAL STIMULATION-SEEKING. , 1965, The American journal of psychiatry.

[22]  Jerome Kagan,et al.  Three pleasing ideas. , 1996 .

[23]  D. F. Jacobs,et al.  Evidence for a common dissociative-like reaction among addicts , 1988, Journal of gambling behavior.

[24]  S. Fisher,et al.  Measuring pathological gambling in children: The case of fruit machines in the U.K. , 1992, Journal of Gambling Studies.

[25]  S B Blume,et al.  Alcoholism, drug abuse, and gambling. , 1986, Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research.

[26]  M. Raviv.  Personality characteristics of sexual addicts and pathological gamblers , 1993 .

[27]  Durand F. Jacobs,et al.  The relationship between dissociative-like experiences and sensation seeking among social and problem gamblers , 1988, Journal of gambling behavior.

[28]  R. McCormick,et al.  Disinhibition and negative affectivity in substance abusers with and without a gambling problem. , 1993, Addictive behaviors.

[29]  H. Eysenck.  Biological Basis of Personality , 1963, Nature.

[30]  A. Blaszczynski,et al.  Control versus abstinence in the treatment of pathological gambling: a two to nine year follow-up. , 1991, British journal of addiction.

[31]  J. Derevensky,et al.  The relationship between gambling and video-game playing behavior in children and adolescents , 1996, Journal of Gambling Studies.

[32]  A. Blaszczynski,et al.  Boredom Proneness in Pathological Gambling , 1990, Psychological reports.

[33]  Robert D. Hare,et al.  Sensation seeking and psychophysiological responses to auditory stimulation. , 1981, Psychophysiology.

[34]  Keis Ohtsuka,et al.  Sex Differences in Pathological Gambling Using Gaming Machines , 1997, Psychological reports.

[35]  F. Farley,et al.  Impulsiveness, Sociability, and the Preference for Varied Experience , 1970, Perceptual and motor skills.

[36]  J. Derevensky,et al.  Personality characteristics and risk-taking tendencies among adolescent gamblers. , 2006 .

[37]  J. Derevensky,et al.  Familial and Social Influences on Juvenile Gambling Behavior , 2004, Journal of Gambling Studies.

[38]  B. Tabachnick,et al.  Using Multivariate Statistics , 1983 .

[39]  K. Winters,et al.  Prevalence of Gambling Among Minnesota Public School Students in 1992 and 1995 , 2004, Journal of Gambling Studies.

[40]  M. Zuckerman.  Behavioral Expressions and Biosocial Bases of Sensation Seeking , 1994 .

[41]  T. Dielman,et al.  A survey of American gambling attitudes and behavior: Final report , 1976 .

[42]  M. Zuckerman.  Sensation Seeking : Beyond the Optimal Level of Arousal , 1979 .

[43]  Karl G. Jöreskog,et al.  Lisrel 8: User's Reference Guide , 1997 .

[44]  H. Lesieur,et al.  Characteristics of pathological gamblers identified among patients on a psychiatric admissions service. , 1990, Hospital & community psychiatry.

[45]  H. Pope,et al.  Pathological gambling and major affective disorder: preliminary findings. , 1986, The Journal of clinical psychiatry.

[46]  E. Duffy,et al.  The psychological significance of the concept of arousal or activation. , 1957, Psychological review.

[47]  D. F. Jacobs,et al.  A general theory of addictions: A new theoretical model , 1986, Journal of gambling behavior.

[48]  M. Dickerson,et al.  Cessation of high frequency gambling and "withdrawal' symptoms. , 1981, British journal of addiction.

[49]  H J Eysenck,et al.  Sensation seeking in England and America: cross-cultural, age, and sex comparisons. , 1978, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[50]  James F. Smith,et al.  Gambling as Play , 1984 .

[51]  M. Dickerson,et al.  Chasing, arousal and sensation seeking in off-course gamblers. , 1987, British journal of addiction.

[52]  D. Hebb.  Drives and the C.N.S. (conceptual nervous system). , 1955, Psychological review.