Shared Predictors of Youthful Gambling, Substance Use, and Delinquency.

• DOI: 10.1037/0893-164x.19.2.165
• Publication Date: 2005-07-12T18:50:02Z
• Authors: Grace M. Barnes; John W. Welte; Joseph H. Hoffman; Barbara A. Dintcheff
• Keywords: Adult; Male; Adolescent; Substance-Related Disorders; Peer Group; Sampling Studies; 3. Good health; Disruptive, Impulse Control, and Conduct Disorders; 03 medical and health sciences; Gambling; Juvenile Delinquency; Humans; Female; Crime; Prospective Studies; 0305 other medical science; 10. No inequality

Given that gambling, alcohol misuse, other drug use, and delinquency are correlated, it is hypothesized that these problem behaviors have shared antecedents. Measures from 3 explanatory domains--sociodemographic factors (age, race, and socioeconomic status), individual factors (impulsivity and moral disengagement), and socialization factors (parental monitoring and peer delinquency)--were tested for links to problem behaviors in 2 longitudinal samples of adolescents. Black youth had lower levels of problem behaviors than Whites. Impulsivity was a significant predictor of alcohol misuse for females and delinquency for males. Moral disengagement predicted gambling for males. Parental monitoring showed a significant inverse relationship to alcohol misuse and other substance use for males. Peer delinquency showed numerous prospective paths to youth problem behaviors for both genders.