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The Relationship Between Problem Gambling and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

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Abstract

Recent studies indicate that treatment-seeking problem gamblers display elevated rates of ADHD and that adolescents who screen positive for ADHD are more likely to engage in gambling, develop gambling problems, and experience a greater severity in gambling problems. This study aimed to (a) compare the prevalence of ADHD in treatment-seeking problem gamblers to the general population; (b) investigate the relationships between ADHD and problem gambling severity, cluster B personality disorders, motor impulsivity, alcohol use, substance use, gender, and age; and (c) investigate the degree to which these factors moderate the relationship between ADHD and problem gambling severity. Participants included 214 adults (154 males, 58 females, 2 unspecified) who sought treatment for their gambling problems at a specialist gambling agency in Melbourne, Australia. Almost one-quarter (24.9 %) of treatment-seeking problem gamblers screened positively for ADHD, which was significantly higher than the 14 % prevalence in a community sample. ADHD was significantly positively correlated with problem gambling severity, motor impulsivity, and cluster B personality disorders, but was not associated with alcohol and substance use, gender or age. None of the factors significantly moderated the relationship between ADHD and problem gambling severity. These findings suggest that a considerable proportion of treatment-seeking problem gamblers report ADHD and that their clinical profile is complicated by the presence of high impulsivity and cluster B personality disorders. They highlight the need for specialist gambling agencies to develop screening, assessment, and management protocols for co-occurring ADHD to enhance the effectiveness of treatment.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to acknowledge the efforts of the staff at Gamblers Help (City) and all of the clients who contributed data to this project.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Psychology, Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia

    O. R. Waluk, G. J. Youssef & N. A. Dowling

  2. Monash Clinical and Imaging Neuroscience, School of Psychological Sciences and Monash Biomedical Imaging, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia

    G. J. Youssef

  3. Melbourne Graduate School of Education, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia

    N. A. Dowling

  4. School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia

    N. A. Dowling

  5. Centre for Gambling Research, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia

    N. A. Dowling

Authors
  1. O. R. Waluk
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  2. G. J. Youssef
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  3. N. A. Dowling
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to N. A. Dowling.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

This study was approved by the Deakin Human Research Ethics Committee (Reference No. 2014-209) and the University of Melbourne’s Human Research Ethics Committee (0932410.1). All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. This article does not contain any studies with animals performed by any of the authors.

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Waluk, O.R., Youssef, G.J. & Dowling, N.A. The Relationship Between Problem Gambling and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. J Gambl Stud 32, 591–604 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-015-9564-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-015-9564-8

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