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Background and Objectives: This paper examines risk factors of gambling and problem gambling among racial subgroups in the U.S. population, namely Native Americans and blacks, for whom research data are lacking.Methods: Findings are based on a large representative general population survey (n = 3,474) of gambling in the U.S. with an oversample of Native Americans (n = 549). Multiple domains were assessed including sociodemographic factors; ecological factors (census-defined neighborhood disadvantage, geocoded density of casinos within 30 miles of respondents' homes, and perceived gambling convenience); impulsivity; and alcohol abuse.Results: After controlling for all variables in the study, neighborhood disadvantage has a significantly greater effect on overall gambling, frequent gambling, and problem gambling for Native Americans than for the rest of the U.S.Population: In addition, the relationship between frequent gambling and heavier drinking is much stronger for blacks than for the rest of the U.S.Population: Discussion and Conclusions: There is a lack of research on gambling involvement among minority groups in the U.S. Blacks and Native Americans are at a higher risk for problem gambling as compared with the rest of the population. Furthermore, social factors and alcohol abuse may show a stronger co-occurrence with gambling involvement among minority groups than among whites.Scientific Significance: This study is a large representative U.S. sample with sizeable numbers of Native Americans and blacks. Thus, prevalence rates and risk factors can be assessed for these important population subgroups. This will allow for targeted intervention programs for Native Americans and blacks with problem gambling and alcohol abuse. (Am J Addict 2017;26:713-721). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The co-occurrence of gambling with substance use and conduct disorder was examined in a representative U.S. household sample of 2,274 youth 14-21 years old. The findings show that problem gambling occurs within a problem-behavior syndrome with other substance-use behaviors and conduct disorder. Male gender, being black, and being Hispanic were found to be significant in predicting problem gambling over and above the effects of all four substance use and conduct disorder variables. Clinical interventions for one specific problem behavior in youth should consider assessing the other problem behaviors as well. (Am J Addict 2011;20: 1-8) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From socialization theory, it was hypothesized that parental support and monitoring as well as peer deviance would influence individual trajectories of alcohol misuse, other substance use, and delinquency. Six waves of data were analyzed using interviews with 506 adolescents in a general population sample. Results from multilevel modeling showed that monitoring significantly predicted adolescents' initial levels (intercepts) of alcohol misuse and delinquency. Parental monitoring strongly predicted the rates of increase (slope) in all 3 problem behaviors. Peer deviance significantly predicted initial levels of all problem behaviors and the rates of increase in them. This study provides evidence that both effective parenting and avoidance of associations with delinquent peers are important factors in preventing adolescent problem behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We analyzed data for a national U.S. telephone survey. Most likely to have gambled in the past year were those whose friends and families looked favorably on gambling, Catholics, young adults, and those who live close to a lottery outlet. Most likely to have gambled frequently in the past year were those whose friends look favorably on gambling and those who live close to a lottery outlet. Most likely to be problem gamblers were Blacks, those who smoke or who are alcohol dependent, and those who live in disadvantaged neighborhoods. The decision to gamble is influenced by social milieu and values, while risk for problem gambling is influenced by proneness to problem behaviors and by disadvantaged status. Availability of gambling influences all gambling involvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alcohol use increases throughout adolescence. Based on family socialization theory, it was hypothesized that family factors, particularly parental support and monitoring, would influence individual trajectories in the development of alcohol misuse. Six waves of data were analyzed, based on interviews with 506 adolescents in the general population of a northeastern metropolitan area. Using growth-curve longitudinal analysis, results show that parenting significantly predicts adolescents' initial drinking levels (intercepts) as well as their rates of increase in alcohol misuse (slope). This study provides evidence that effective parenting is an important factor in preventing alcohol misuse.Key Words: adolescence, alcohol use, latent growth model, longitudinal study, parenting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three comparable representative samples of 7th to 12th grade students in New York State were surveyed in 1983, 1990, and 1994 to determine changes in the patterns of alcohol use over the past decade. Each of the three samples was large ( n= 27,335, 23,860, and 19,321, respectively), permitting detailed analysis of changes in alcohol use in various adolescent subgroups according to age, gender, and race/ethnicity. Previous research revealed that there were marked decreases in the prevalence of overall drinking, heavy drinking, and alcohol-related problems from 1983 to 1990, yet recent national reports indicate that since 1990 there has been an upsurge in substance use among adolescents. Whereas the proportion of drinkers did not significantly increase between 1990 and 1994, average consumption, heavy drinking, and alcohol-related problems all showed modest, but significant increases in the 1990s. Furthermore, between 1990 and 1994, the age distributions for alcohol use, heavy drinking, and alcohol problems changed, as evidenced by significant age by year of survey interactions. These findings indicate that adolescents are currently drinking, drinking heavily, and experiencing alcohol-related problems at younger ages than they were in past years. Prevention efforts should be targeted at delaying alcohol use in early adolescence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Surveys have generally shown that Hispanics in the United States have lower than the national average rates of drinking, along with average rates of heavy drinking and drug use. Acculturation has been shown to be related to drinking and drug use. This study reports results from a large general population telephone survey conducted in New York State. Hispanic New York State residents were lower than the national average in drinking and heavy drinking when demographic variables were held constant. Gender differences in substance use were greater for Hispanics than for non-Hispanics, with males higher than females. Among Hispanic groups, Puerto Ricans were high and Dominicans were low in drug use. Among Hispanics, more frequent use of English was associated with higher drinking and drug use rates. Traditional Hispanic attitudes and closeness to country or origin were not related to substance use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The prevalence and patterns of alcohol use and alcohol-related problems were determined in two large representative samples of 7-12th grade students in New York State in 1983 and 1990. Comparable sampling procedures and measures were used in both surveys. Logistic regression analyses showed that overall drinking, heavy drinking, and alcohol-related problems decreased significantly for the population as a whole; furthermore, all subgroups according to age, gender, and racial/ethnic status showed significant declines in alcohol use and related problems over this time period. The social context of this change is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the impact of single-mother families and nonresident father's involvement in single-mother families on delinquency, heavy drinking and illicit drug use in Black and White adolescents by gender. Children who grow up in single-parent families have more negative outcomes than those with both parents. It is suggested that single-mother families will be less effective at socializing sons than daughters. In single-mother families, mothers' constraints on daughters are still present, but because of the lack of a father to model conventional adult male behavior and to deter deviance, sons in single-mother families might be even more likely to be deviant. The article is based on a representative household sample of over 600 adolescents and their parents. Using adolescent reports of support as an indicator of nonresident father involvement, it is found that for White adolescent males, nonresident father involvement buffers the negative effects of single-mother families on delinquency, heavy drinking, and illicit drug use. Indeed the highest rates of problem behavior are found among White male adolescents in single- mother families without the support of a nonresident father. However, for Black male adolescents, it is found that fewer problem behaviors when nonresident fathers are not involved in single-mother families.

The article examines the relationship between work-family conflict and alcohol or cigarette use among women via domain-specific and general negative effect. Work-family conflict occurs when efforts to fulfill work role demands interfere with one's ability to fulfill family demands and vice versa. Individuals who frequently experience conflict between their work and family roles may be more likely to experience difficulty constructing and maintaining desired work and family related self-images, and therefore suffers from a host of deleterious health-related outcomes. Substance use represents one important set of health-related behaviors. Affect regulation theory posits that stressors and substance use are positively related because substances are used to cope with negative affect arising from exposure to chronic and acute stressors. In terms of the health-related outcomes of work-family conflict, employed mothers of adolescents may be an especially vulnerable group because women continue to bear primary responsibility for parenting and because parents report that adolescence is the most difficult stage of parenting

The article examines the effects of cohesion and adaptability on family members' psychological functioning, behavior, and perceptions of family relationships. The concept of cohesion from family system theory is closely related to the construct of support as used both in social support theory and in theories of the effects of parental support on child outcomes. Several research evidences suggest that the relationship between cohesion and optimal functioning is not curvilinear, but rather that it is a direct linear relationship. Hence more cohesion means better family functioning. However, the findings in this study do not support this hypothesis. On the contrary, the authors find evidence consistent with the linear effects predicted by social support theory, namely, the more cohesive a family, the better the individual family members function, the better the communication between parents and children, the greater the marital consensus, and the better the behavioral outcomes for adolescent children.

The article presents a study that examined the effects of parenting practices, particularly support and control on the development of adolescent drinking, delinquency and other problem behaviors. From the sizable body of theory and empirical research related to parental socialization and child outcomes, two key constructs have emerged as critical components of parenting. These key constructs are support and control. The support construct has been defined as parental behaviors toward the child, such as praising, encouraging, and giving physical affection, which indicate to the child that he or she is accepted and loved. The control construct has been defined as parental behaviors toward the child which are intended to direct the child's behavior in a manner acceptable to the parent. The study found that parental support and monitoring are important predictors of adolescent outcomes even after taking into account critical demographic/family factors, including socioeconomic indicators, age, gender, and race of the adolescent, family structure, and family history of alcohol abuse.

Adolescent perceptions of help-seeking social resources (e.g., parents, friends, school counselor, clergyman) they would utilize if they were having substance abuse difficulties were investigated for samples of early and middle adolescents. 8 different perceived help-seeking categories were identified, and intergroup comparisons were made with regard to gender and ethnic/racial group and with regard to alcohol consumption, substance-related problems, and school misconduct. 2 perceived help-seeking categories had the highest levels of problem behaviors. The first category consisted of adolescents who identified friends as the only social resource they would utilize if they were having substance abuse problems. The second category, referred to as social isolates, indicated that they would not utilize any social resource if they were having substance abuse problems. There were approximately twice as many male social isolates as female social isolates, and blacks and Hispanics were highly overrepresented in the social isolate category. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Estimates of alcohol consumption (ounces of absolute alcohol per day, AA) based on beverage-specific and global quantity-frequency (QF) questions were compared in a survey representative of the adult drinking population in New York State. Beverage-specific AA estimates were higher than global (0.72, 95% confidence intervals = 0.68, 0.76) compared to 0.49 (95% confidence intervals = 0.47, 0.51), although estimates were highly correlated (r = 0.75). Discrepancies between beverage specific and global AA estimates increased as the number of beverages and the amount drunk increased. Sociodemographic characteristics were not significantly related to differences between beverage-specific and global AA estimates after adjusting for the amount drunk; however, drinking patterns did influence the differences. It was concluded that beverage-specific QF questions are probably more valid measures of alcohol consumption than global QF questions, but that the global questions provide useful information. Parallel analyses of variant global QF questions employed in the first US Health and Nutrition Examination Survey obtained similar results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From family socialization theory, it is hypothesized in this study that parents, as models and as agents of socialization, influence the development of various types of drinking behaviors in their children. In-home interviews were conducted with a representative general population sample of adolescents from 12 to 17 years old and their mothers and fathers. The findings revealed that adolescent drinking can be explained in part by parental models of drinking behavior; for example, heavier-drinking parents were more likely than other parents to have adolescents who were also heavier drinkers. Parental socialization factors, particularly support and to a lesser degree control, were also shown to have an effect on the development of adolescent drinking behaviors. It was concluded that the family socialization process should be considered as a critical element in the prevention of problem behaviors such as alcohol abuse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Age at first drink has been found to be associated with alcohol problems in adulthood, but little is known regarding the relationship of age at first drink and current alcohol intake variables. This study was designed to determine the relationship of age at first drink to traditional drinking variables as well as novel current drinking variables assessed for the first time in a national general population sample., Method: Data on age of first drink, pathological drinking (DSM-IV alcohol abuse or dependence) and alcohol intake on typical drinking occasions were collected on a national general population sample of 2631 subjects by means of computerized telephone interviewing. Variables assessed for the first time in a national survey included the duration of the typical drinking episode and the predicted peak blood alcohol levels achieved during those episodes., Results: Data from 2276 subjects who reported an age at first drink were used in this study. Men and lifetime pathological drinkers reported an earlier age at first drink than did, respectively, women or lifetime nonpathological drinkers. There were significant regression coefficients between age at first drink and several current drinking measures. The largest coefficients were usually found within younger age groups., Conclusions: Age at first drink may be a useful predictive variable for some current drinking measures, including predicted peak blood alcohol levels as well as lifetime alcohol pathology. Further support was provided for the "convergence" hypothesis that the drinking habits of women have become more like those of men.