An Empirical Examinination of Jacobs' General Theory of Addictions: Do Adolescent Gamblers Fit the Theory?

Overview

Journal J Gambl Stud

Date 2003 May 27

PMID 12766433

Citations 60

Authors

Rina Gupta

Jeffrey L Derevensky

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

The present study examines 817 adolescent High School students' gambling behavior. Participants completed the DSM-IV-J, a gambling screen examining severity of gambling problems along with the High School Personality Questionnaire (HSPQ), the Reynolds Adolescent Depression Scale (RADS) and a questionnaire devised by the authors inquiring about gambling behavior, substance abuse, alcohol consumption, and cigarette smoking. The study seeks to test the Jacobs' (1986) General Theory of Addictions, using problem and pathological adolescent gamblers as the prototype to test the model. The results obtained through path analysis and logistic regression suggest that Jacobs' theory is a plausible and likely explanation for the development of a gambling addiction amongst adolescents. The clinical implications are addressed.

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