Impulsive Boys Might Become Chronic Gamblers

Research in Canada has found that teens and young adults who have very impulsive behaviour were most likely to become depressed which leads to developing a gambling problem. Their finding showed that Young men who are chronic gamblers most likely suffer from depression, a recent study suggests.

Similar to an addiction

The researchers also found that boys who show impulsive behaviours in childhood were more than likely to gamble later in their lives.

Study leader, Frederic Dussault, who is from the University of Quebec, Montreal, said that Gambling problems may be a more personal problem quite similar to an addiction, and once they have acquired a taste of it, it is difficult to get rid of.

The researchers examined data from almost 900 kindergarten boys since they began in 1984. The boys studied came from low-income areas in Montreal. The study over time, gathered information on their families, the quality of their relationships with parents and friends, and also analysed how often the boys acted impulsively.

The boys were asked when they reached the ages of 17, 23 and 28, if they had any gambling problems or any symptoms of depression. It was found that only 3% of the young men had a chronic gambling problem. However, almost 3/4 of those who had serious gambling issues were also found to suffered from depression.

Th study also showed that these problems worsened over time, in the study that was published recently in the Journal of Gambling Studies.

These young teens and young adults who presented with impulsive behaviour were found that they were also more likely to become depressed, an later and develop a gambling problem. This is unlike delinquent behaviour, such as, theft and violence, the chronic gambling issues did not improve once the boys grew older.

It was suggested that gambling problems and depression the researcher concluded should be treated simultaneously, and that early prevention efforts should focus on specific risk factors, such as, impulsive behaviour, they said.