Gambling Problems Are More Common than Drinking Problems

January 15,2013

Alcoholism is a disease that mostly every person in the United States knows about, or has dealt with first-hand; or perhaps, through addicted friends or family members.

Gambling Problems Are More Common than Drinking Problems

Alcoholism is a disease that mostly every person in the United States knows about, or has dealt with first-hand; or perhaps, through addicted friends or family members. What many are unaware of is the rising amount of people who suffer from a gambling addiction. In the past, gambling addictions were considered rare, especially when compared with the frequency of drug and alcohol addiction. However, a recent study done by John. W. Welte, a principal investigator on the study, and a national expert on alcohol and gambling pathology, shows that there is the possibility for gambling to over shadow alcohol addiction.

Welte and colleagues conducted and then combined results from two national surveys regarding gambling and alcohol. One of the tests included people from 14 to 12 years of age and the second of adults 18 and older. The idea was to map patterns of U.S. gambling and alcohol use across a life span. What was found included that gambling, frequent gambling and problem gambling increased in frequency during the teen years, reached its highest level in the 20s and 30s, and then dropped considerably amongst those over 70 years of age.

Welte comments that comparable analysis in this field had not been done before his research and therefore, there is nothing to directly compare his results with. The results also outlined more detailed probabilities. Including that men are twice as susceptible to developing a gambling problem than women and that they reach their peaks in the addiction far sooner. Also, it was found that gambling is more prominent in the white population of the U.S. than black, Asian, Hispanic or native Americans in the country.

Welte believes that the rise in gambling addictions can partly be blamed on the decline of socioeconomic status (SES). As more lower SES Americans are involved in gambling as a means to make a living it has become apparent that gambling addictions have been on the rise for several years now, without much indication of a problem.

In order to combat the rise in gambling addictions, the first step which must be taken is to further inform the population about symptoms and tell-tale signs. Without knowledge of what people should watch out for in themselves and loved ones, addictions such as gambling addiction can be easily over looked. The key to any addiction is that the action or habit is uncontrolled, impulsive and causes severe negative consequences in many aspects of life.

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