Gambling and Emerging Adults: Understanding Risk Pathways

Lia Nower, JD, Ph.D. Professor and Director
Center for Gambling Studies
Rutgers University, School of Social Work

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In 2022, the ICRG released a call for proposals inviting investigators to explore the impact of expanded legalized gambling on emerging adults (aged 18-26). The winning proposal was a Center of Excellence led by Dr. Lia Nower at Rutgers University. The center will study established risk factors for this demographic group, along with more contemporary considerations, such as the influence of the changing legislative landscape, gambling associated with video games, as well as understudied areas such as genetic risk factors, intergenerational influences, and dispositional variables. The use of representative samples will bolster the generalizability of the findings while providing a nuanced understanding of how risk is influenced by state support of gambling. In addition, longitudinal datasets with genetic information will inform an exploration of biological correlates and trajectory of gambling activity and problems in the context of a theoretical framework, the Pathways Model, developed by Dr. Nower and Dr. Alex Blaszczynski. This model “integrates the complex array of biological, personality, developmental, cognitive, learning theory and ecological determinants of problem and pathological gambling.”
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The overall goal of this Center of Excellence Proposal is to conduct a comprehensive, systematic study of risk factors that impact gambling among emerging adults to inform policy, education, prevention, and treatment efforts. Translational knowledge from this project will be disseminated as evidence-based materials and tools that will be useful for the general public as well as for treatment providers, policymakers, and researchers.

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This research was funded by grants from FanDuel and Hard Rock Entertainment to the International Center for Responsible Gaming.

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Center of Excellence: Optimising voluntary engagement with technology-based tools to prevent and reduce gambling harms

In 2022, the ICRG released a call for proposals inviting investigators to explore interventions to prevent the negative consequences associated with gambling, including impacts on the gambling of players who gamble in a problematic manner. The following year, the ICRG awarded a Center of Excellence Grant to Dr. Sally Gainsbury at the University of Sydney. Reflecting the multi-disciplinary approach of the Center grants, Dr. Gainsbury and collegues will create a Centre for Excellence in Gambling Research (CoEGR) within existing research centers focusing on gambling treatment and harm prevention research (psychology, Gambling Treatment & Research Clinic), understanding how gambling harms contribute to social and economic disadvantage over the lifetime (economics, ARC Life Course Centre), how to prevent gambling and other addictions among young adults (public health, Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use), and the role of technology in problematic behavior (multidisciplinary Technology Addiction Team, Brain and Mind Centre). As such, the new CoEGR will focus on conducting cutting edge investigation of gambling behavior and interventions and translating them to inform policies and practices to minimize gambling harms while building research capacity. The objectives of the first three years will be to investigate low voluntary engagement with responsible gambling tools and ways to enhance this through technology-based targeted interventions for vulnerable subgroups.

Their research methods are multidisciplinary and include working with large datasets provided by online gambling operators of customer behavior over a 12-month period and pre-and post-interventions, self-report survey responses linked with objective behavioral data from online gambling operators, and qualitative research using co-design to develop interventions likely to be effective in targeted groups (e.g., young males).

The potential benefits of the outcomes from this program of research for reducing gambling harms are clear. The center will identify groups who appear to be at the greatest risk of experiencing gambling harms and determine how to identify these groups via their behavioral patterns in online account data, improve the understanding of how to engage these groups with preventative interventions and current barriers, identify the most effective ways of communicating with at-risk gamblers to encourage positive behavioral change in the form of voluntary consumer protection tool use and determine whether mandating the dissemination of activity statements is an effective harm reduction strategy.

This Center of Excellence in Gambling Research is supported by a grant from Bally’s Corporation.

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Yale University

Principal Investigator: Marc N. Potenza, M.D., Ph.D.
Award: $402,500 in 2009

“The Yale Gambling CORE (Center Of Research Excellence)” is building upon existing collaborations and interdisciplinary of the PI and his research team, including the Women’s Health Research at Yale, the VA VISN 1 MIRECC (focusing on co-occurring disorders), Yale Child Study Center, Yale Center for Translational Neuroscience in Alcoholism, Yale Psychotherapy Development Center, and multiple training programs. Collaborations outside of Yale will include the Connecticut Council on Problem Gambling, Problem Gambling Services, the National Council on Problem Gambling, and the National Center for Responsible Gaming. The main research component is a study that involves the disciplines of treatment development, brain imaging, molecular genetics and behavioral/neurocognitive assessment and is investigating factors associated with outcome in pathological gambling treatment.

Balodis, I. M., Grilo, C. M., Kober, H., Worhunsky, P. D., White, M. A., Stevens, M. C., & Potenza, M. N. (2014). A pilot study linking reduced fronto–striatal recruitment during reward processing to persistent bingeing following treatment for binge‐eating disorder. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 47(4), 376-384.

Balodis, I.M., Kober, H., Worhunsky, P.D., Stevens, M.C., Pearlson, G.D., & Potenza MN. (2012) Diminished frontostriatal activity during processing of monetary rewards and losses in pathological gambling. Biological Psychiatry 71,749-757.

Balodis, I. M., Lacadie, C. M., & Potenza, M. N. (2012). A preliminary study of the neural correlates of the intensities of self-reported gambling urges and emotions in men with pathological gambling. Journal of Gambling Studies, 28(3), 493-513.

Barry, D.T., Pilver, C., Desai, R.A., & Potenza, M.N. (2013). Pain interference, gambling problem severity, and psychiatric disorders among a nationally representative sample of adults. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 2(3), 138-144.

Barry, D.T., Stefanovics, E.A., Desai, R.A., & Potenza, M.N. (2011). Differences in the associations between gambling problem severity and psychiatric disorders among black and white adults: Findings from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions. American Journal on  Addictions, 20, 69-77.

Barry, D.T., Stefanovics, E.A., Desai, R.A., & Potenza, M.N. (2011) Gambling problem severity and psychiatric disorders among Hispanic and white Adults: Findings from a nationally representative sample. Journal of Psychiatry Research, 45, 404-411.

Berlin, H., Koran, L., Potenza, M.N., McElroy, S., Fong, T., Malhotra, S., Braun, A., Simeon, D., Pallanti, S., Chaplin, W., Hollander, E. (2013) A double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of topiramate for pathological gambling. World Journal of Biological Psychiatry, 14,121-128.

Blanco, C., Potenza, M.N., Kim, S.W., Ibanez, A., Zaninelli, R., Saiz-Ruiz, J., & Grant, J.E. (2009). A pilot study of impulsivity and compulsivity in pathological gambling. Psychiatry Research 167,161-168.

Brewer, J.A., Potenza, M.N., & Desai, R.A. (2010). Differential associations between problem and pathological gambling and psychiatric disorders in individuals with and without alcohol abuse or dependence. CNS Spectrums 15, 33-44.

Desai, R. A., Krishnan-Sarin, S., Cavallo, D., & Potenza, M. N. (2010). Video-gaming among high school students: health correlates, gender differences, and problematic gaming. Pediatrics, peds-2009.

Franco, C. A., Maciejewski, P. K., & Potenza, M. N. (2011). Past-year recreational gambling in a nationally representative sample: Correlates of casino, non-casino, and both casino/non-casino gambling. Psychiatry Research, 188(2), 269-275.

Giddens, J. L., Stefanovics, E., Pilver, C. E., Desai, R., & Potenza, M. N. (2012). Pathological gambling severity and co-occurring psychiatric disorders in individuals with and without anxiety disorders in a nationally representative sample. Psychiatry Research, 199(1), 58-64.

Giddens, J. L., Xian, H., Scherrer, J. F., Eisen, S. A., & Potenza, M. N. (2011). Shared genetic contributions to anxiety disorders and pathological gambling in a male population. Journal of Affective Disorders, 132(3), 406-412.

Grant, J.E., Black, D.W., Stein, D.J., & Potenza, M.N. (2009). Clinical case discussion: Pathological gambling and nicotine dependence. Journal of Addiction Medicine, 3:120-127.

Grant, J.E., Odlaug, B.L., Potenza, M.N., Hollander, E., & Kim, S.W. (2010). A multi-center, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of the opioid antagonist nalmefene in the treatment of pathological gambling. British Journal of Psychiatry,197, 330-331.

Kong, G., Tsai, J., Pilver, C. E., Tan, H. S., Hoff, R. A., Cavallo, D. A., & Potenza, M. N. (2013). Differences in gambling problem severity and gambling and health/functioning characteristics among Asian-American and Caucasian high-school students. Psychiatry Research, 210(3), 1071-1078.

Kundu, P. V., Pilver, C. E., Desai, R. A., Steinberg, M. A., Rugle, L., Krishnan-Sarin, S., & Potenza, M. N. (2013). Gambling-related attitudes and behaviors in adolescents having received instant (scratch) lottery tickets as gifts. Journal of Adolescent Health, 52(4), 456-464.

Leeman, R. F., Hoff, R. A., Krishnan-Sarin, S., Patock-Peckham, J. A., & Potenza, M. N. (2014). Impulsivity, sensation-seeking, and part-time job status in relation to substance use and gambling in adolescents. Journal of Adolescent Health, 54(4), 460-466.

Pilver, C.E., Libby, D.J., Hoff, R.A., & Potenza, M.N. (2013) Problem gambling severity and the incidence of Axis I psychopathology among older adults in the general population. Journal of Psychiatry Research, 47, 534-541.

Pilver, C.E., Libby, D.J., Hoff, R.A., & Potenza, M.N. (2013) Gender differences in the relationship between gambling problems and the incidence of substance-use disorders in a nationally representative population sample. Drug and Alcohol Dependence 133(1):204-211.

Pilver, C. E., & Potenza, M. N. (2013). Increased incidence of cardiovascular conditions among older adults with pathological gambling features in a prospective study. Journal of Addiction Medicine, 7(6).

Potenza MN, Balodis IM, Franco CA, Bullock S, Xu J, Grant JE (2013) Neurobiological considerations in understanding behavioral treatments for pathological gambling. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 27, 380-392.

Potenza, M.N., Walderhaug, E., Henry, S., Gallezot, J-D., Planeta-Wilson, B., Ropchan, J., & Neumeister, A. (2013) Serotonin 1B receptor imaging in pathological gambling. World Journal of Biological Psychiatry 14, 129-138.

Potenza, M. N., Wareham, J. D., Steinberg, M. A., Rugle, L., Cavallo, D. A., Krishnan-Sarin, S., & Desai, R. A. (2011). Correlates of at-risk/problem internet gambling in adolescents. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 50(2), 150-159.

Rahman, A. S., Pilver, C. E., Desai, R. A., Steinberg, M. A., Rugle, L., Krishnan-Sarin, S., & Potenza, M. N. (2012). The relationship between age of gambling onset and adolescent problematic gambling severity. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 46(5), 675-683.

Rahman, A. S., Xu, J., & Potenza, M. N. (2014). Hippocampal and amygdalar volumetric differences in pathological gambling: a preliminary study of the associations with the behavioral inhibition system. Neuropsychopharmacology, 39(3), 738-745.

Rao, H., Mamikonyan, E., Detre, J. A., Siderowf, A. D., Stern, M. B., Potenza, M. N., & Weintraub, D. (2010). Decreased ventral striatal activity with impulse control disorders in Parkinson’s disease. Movement Disorders, 25(11), 1660-1669.

Slavin, M., Pilver C.E., Hoff, R.A., Krishnan-Sarin, S., Steinberg, M., Rugle, L., & Potenza, M.N. (2013). Serious physical fighting and gambling-related attitudes and behaviors in adolescents. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 2(3), 167-178.

Yau, Y. H., Pilver, C. E., Steinberg, M. A., Rugle, L. J., Hoff, R. A., Krishnan-Sarin, S., & Potenza, M. N. (2014). Relationships between problematic internet use and problem-gambling severity: findings from a high-school survey. Addictive Behaviors, 39(1), 13-21.

Yip, S. W., Desai, R. A., Steinberg, M. A., Rugle, L., Cavallo, D. A., Krishnan‐Sarin, S., & Potenza, M. N. (2011). Health/functioning characteristics, gambling behaviors, and gambling‐related motivations in adolescents stratified by gambling problem severity: Findings from a high school survey. The American Journal on Addictions, 20(6), 495-508.

Yip, S.W., Lacadie, C., Xu, J., Worhunsky, P.D., Fulbright, R.K., Constable, R.T., & Potenza, M.N. (2013). Reduced genual corpus collosal white matter integrity in pathological gambling and its relationship to alcohol abuse or dependence. World Journal of Biological Psychiatry 14, 129-138. PMC3689213

Yip, S. W., White, M. A., Grilo, C. M., & Potenza, M. N. (2011). An exploratory study of clinical measures associated with subsyndromal pathological gambling in patients with binge eating disorder. Journal of Gambling Studies, 27(2), 257-270.

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University of Minnesota

Principal Investigator: Jon E. Grant, JD, MD, M.P.H.
Award: $402,500 in 2009

Emerging evidence shows remarkable similarities in signs, symptoms, and neuro-pathology among several forms of impulsive behavior, such as pathological gambling, excessive drug and alcohol use, and risk taking behaviors such as driving recklessly and sexual promiscuity. Recent clinical and preclinical studies indicate that severity of impulsivity reflects varying degrees of control over motivational neurocircuitry and may provide the key to understanding the core pathology underlying these ostensibly distinct disorders. More specifically, identifying and understanding these commonalities of impulsivity, as well as the varying degrees of impulse inhibition, may reveal the driving force underlying pathological gambling.

The overall goal of this Center is to expand upon these important initial preclinical and clinical studies by implementing a translational approach in an interdisciplinary team that uses information from young adults with a range of impulsive behaviors to examine underlying neuropsychological and cognitive mechanisms that lead to the vulnerability, development and treatment of pathological gambling. The behaviors that characterize pathological gambling (e.g., chasing losses, preoccupation with gambling, inability to stop) have been strongly linked to an inability to inhibit reward-seeking, also referred to as “impulsivity” or “disinhibition”. Developmentally, impulsive behavior that underlies pathological gambling tends to start during late adolescence or early adulthood. Recent theoretical work has suggested that impulsivity may arise as a coherent construct arising from multiple perspectives, including neuroeconomic, cognitive, and neuropsychological perspectives. Relatively little research, however, has focused on incorporating these multiple perspectives into a coherent understanding of impulsivity and pathological gambling. This Center proposes to integrate research in the fields of cognition, neuroeconomics, and computational modeling to develop and validate a susceptibility detection model of impulsivity. This model of impulsivity will allow for the early detection of susceptible youth and, with early treatment interventions, will prove that progression to pathological gambling, and perhaps other disorders of impulse control, can be prevented.

Chamberlain, S. R., Odlaug, B. L., Schreiber, L., & Grant, J. E. (2012). Association between tobacco smoking and cognitive functioning in young adults. The American Journal on Addictions, 21(s1), S14-S19.

Chamberlain, S. R., Odlaug, B. L., Schreiber, L. R., & Grant, J. E. (2013). Clinical and neurocognitive markers of suicidality in young adults. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 47(5), 586-591.

Grant, J. E., Odlaug, B. L., Chamberlain, S. R., & Schreiber, L. R. (2012). Neurocognitive dysfunction in strategic and non-strategic gamblers. Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry, 38(2), 336-340.

Grant, J.E., Odlaug, B.L., Chamberlain, S.R., Keuthen, N.J., Lochner, C.,& Stein, D.J. (2012). Skin picking disorder: An under-recognized and under-treated disorder. American Journal of Psychiatry,169(11):1143-1149.

Grant, J.E., Chamberlain, S.R., Odlaug, B.L., & Schreiber, L.R.N. (2012). Gender-related clinical and neurocognitive differences in individuals seeking treatment for pathological gambling. Journal of Psychiatry Research, 46(9),1206-1211.

Grant, J. E., Chamberlain, S. R., Schreiber, L. R., & Odlaug, B. L. (2012). Neurocognitive deficits associated with shoplifting in young adults. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 53(8), 1049-1055.

Grant, J. E., Chamberlain, S. R., Schreiber, L., & Odlaug, B. L. (2012). Neuropsychological deficits associated with cannabis use in young adults. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 121(1), 159-162.

Grant, J. E., Chamberlain, S. R., Schreiber, L. R. N., Odlaug, B. L., & Kim, S. W. (2011). Selective decision-making deficits in at-risk gamblers. Psychiatry Research, 189(1), 115-120.

Grant, J. E., Odlaug, B. L., & Donahue, C. B. (2012). Adolescent stealing treated with motivational interviewing and imaginal desensitization—Case report. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 1(4), 191-192.

Grant, J. E., Odlaug, B. L., Hampshire, A., Schreiber, L. R., & Chamberlain, S. R. (2013). White matter abnormalities in skin picking disorder: a diffusion tensor imaging study. Neuropsychopharmacology, 38(5), 763-769.

Grant, J. E., Odlaug, B. L., & Mooney, M. E. (2012). Telescoping phenomenon in pathological gambling: Association with gender and comorbidities. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 200(11), 996.

Grant, J. E., Odlaug, B. L., Schreiber, L. R., Chamberlain, S. R., & Kim, S. W. (2013). Memantine reduces stealing behavior and impulsivity in kleptomania: a pilot study. International Clinical Psychopharmacology, 28(2), 106-111.

Grant, J. E., Schreiber, L. R., & Odlaug, B. L. (2013). Phenomenology and treatment of behavioural addictions. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 58(5), 252.

Harvanko, A. M., Odlaug, B. L., Schreiber, L. R., & Grant, J. E. (2012). Cognitive task performance and frequency of alcohol usage in young adults. Journal of Addiction Medicine, 6(2), 106-111.

Hodgins, D. C., Stea, J. N., & Grant, J. E. (2011). Gambling disorders. The Lancet, 378(9806), 1874-1884

Annual Clinical Psychiatry, 24(4), 300-304.,>

Lochner, C., Grant, J. E., Odlaug, B. L., Woods, D. W., Keuthen, N. J., & Stein, D. J. (2012). DSM‐5 field survey: Hair-pulling disorder (trichotillomania). Depression and Anxiety, 29(12), 1025-1031.

Odlaug, B. L., Chamberlain, S. R., Harvanko, A. M., & Grant, J. E. (2012). Age at onset in trichotillomania: clinical variables and neurocognitive performance. Primary Care Companion for CNS Disorders, 14(4), 1343-5.

Odlaug, B. L., Chamberlain, S. R., Kim, S. W., Schreiber, L. R. N., & Grant, J. E. (2011). A neurocognitive comparison of cognitive flexibility and response inhibition in gamblers with varying degrees of clinical severity. Psychological Medicine, 41(10), 2111-2119.

Odlaug BL, Grant JE. (2012). Commentary on Durkee et al: Prevalence of pathological Internet use among adolescents in Europe: demographic and social factors. Addiction, 107(12):2223-2224.

Odlaug, B. L., Grant, J. E., & Kim, S. W. (2012). Suicide attempts in 107 adolescents and adults with kleptomania. Archives of Suicide Research, 16(4), 348-359.

Odlaug, B. L., Lust, K., Schreiber, L. R., Christenson, G., Derbyshire, K., & Grant, J. E. (2013). Skin picking disorder in university students: health correlates and gender differences. General Hospital Psychiatry, 35(2), 168-173.

Odlaug, B. L., Schreiber, L. R., & Grant, J. E. (2013). Personality dimensions and disorders in pathological gambling. Current Opinion in Psychiatry, 26(1), 107-112.

Odlaug, B. L., Stinchfield, R., Golberstein, E., & Grant, J. E. (2013). The relationship of tobacco use with gambling problem severity and gambling treatment outcome. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 27(3), 696.

Schreiber, L. R., Grant, J. E., & Odlaug, B. L. (2012). Emotion regulation and impulsivity in young adults. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 46(5), 651-658.

Schreiber, L.R.N., Odlaug, B.L., & Grant, J.E. (2012). Recreational gamblers with and without parental addiction. Psychiatry Research,196(2-3), 290-295.

Schreiber, L.R.N., Odlaug, B.L., & Grant, J.E. (2011). Diagnosis and treatment of trichotillomania. Neuropsychiatry, 1(2): 123-132.

Schreiber, L.R.N., Odlaug, B.L., & Grant, J.E. (2011). Impulse control disorders: updated review of clinical characteristics and pharmacological management. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 2, 1.

Schreiber, L.R.N., Odlaug, B.L., & Grant, J.E. (2012). Recreational gamblers with and without parental addiction. Psychiatry Research, 196(2-3), 290-295.

Schreiber, L., Odlaug, B.L., Kim, S.W., Grant, J.E. (2009). Characteristics of pathological gamblers with a gambling parent. American Journal of Addictions,18(6), 462-469.

Grant, J. E., Potenza, M. N., Weinstein, A., & Gorelick, D. A. (2010). Introduction to behavioral addictions. The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 36(5), 233-241.

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University of Chicago

Principal Investigator: Jon E. Grant, J.D., M.D., M.P.H.
Award: $402,500 in 2013; supplementary funding of $135,000 awarded in 2016

Emerging evidence shows remarkable similarities in signs, symptoms and neuro-pathology among several forms of impulsive behavior, such as pathological gambling, excessive drug and alcohol use, and risk-taking behaviors such as driving recklessly and sexual promiscuity. Identifying and understanding these commonalities of impulsivity may reveal the driving force behind pathological gambling. The behaviors that characterize pathological gambling (for example, chasing losses, preoccupation with gambling, inability to stop) have been strongly linked to an inability to inhibit reward-seeking, also referred to as “impulsivity” or “disinhibition.” Understanding the complexity of impulse inhibition is a crucial step toward developing effective prevention and treatment strategies.

Developmentally, impulsive behavior that underlies pathological gambling tends to start during late adolescence or early adulthood. Consequently, the center’s multidisciplinary research team is studying a sample of 500 adolescents and young adults (ages 13-25). The sample is being assessed for a range of impulsive behaviors, family history, comorbidity and developmental history. The predictive power of the impulsivity models developed is being tested by following a sample of the adolescents longitudinally during the last two years of the grant to examine the development of a gambling disorder and other impulsive behaviors. The research team is developing and pilot testing cognitive behavioral interventions that will directly target impulse inhibition and decision-making.

The long-term clinical question being pursued by the center is: Can we develop a susceptibility model of impulsivity that will allow us to identify young adults at risk of developing pathological gambling and, thereby, develop effective interventions for prevention and treatment?

Chamberlain, S.R., Derbyshire, K., Daws, R.E., Odlaug, B.L., Leppink, E.W., & Grant, J.E. (2016). White matter tract integrity in treatment-resistant gambling disorder. British Journal of Psychiatry. Advance online publication.

Chamberlain, S.R., Derbyshire, K., Leppink, E., & Grant, J.E. (2015). Impact of ADHD symptoms on clinical and cognitive aspects of problem gambling. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 57, 51-7. doi: 10.1016/j.comppsych.2014.10.013.

Derbyshire, K. L., Lust, K. A., Schreiber, L. R., Odlaug, B. L., Christenson, G. A., Golden, D. J., & Grant, J. E. (2013). Problematic Internet use and associated risks in a college sample. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 54(5), 415-422.

Grant, J.E., Derbyshire, K., Leppink, E., & Chamberlain, S.R. (2014). Suicidality in non-treatment seeking young adults with subsyndromal gambling disorder. Psychiatric Quarterly,85(4), 513-22. doi: 10.1007/s11126-014-9312-8.

Grant, J.E., Leppink, E.W., Redden, S.A., Odlaug, B.L., & Chamberlain, S.R. (2015). COMT genotype, gambling activity, and cognition. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 68, 371-6.

Grant, J.E., Odlaug, B.L., & Chamberlain, S.R. (2016). Neural and psychological underpinnings of gambling disorder: A review. Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology & Biological Psychiatry, 65,188-93. doi: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2015.10.007.

Harvanko, A. M., Derbyshire, K. L., Schreiber, L. R., & Grant, J. E. (2014). Sleepiness and cognition in young adults who gamble and use alcohol. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 3(3), 166-172.

Harvanko, A. M., Schreiber, L. R., & Grant, J. E. (2013). Prediction of alcohol and gambling problems in young adults by using a measure of decision making. Journal of Addiction Medicine, 7(5), 314-319.

Leppink, E., Derbyshire, K., Chamberlain, S.R., & Grant, J.E. (2014). A preliminary comparison of cannabis use in subsyndromal gamblers: select neurocognitive and behavioral differences based on use. Journal of Addiction Medicine, 8(6),443-9.

Leppink, E., & Grant, J. (2015). Traumatic event exposure and gambling: Associations with clinical, neurocognitive, and personality variables. Annals of clinical psychiatry: official journal of the American Academy of Clinical Psychiatrists, 27(1), 16-24.

Leppink, E. W., Redden, S. A., & Grant, J. E. (2016). Impulsivity and gambling: A complex clinical association across three measures. The American Journal on Addictions, 25(2), 138-144.

Potenza, M. N., Balodis, I. M., Franco, C. A., Bullock, S., Xu, J., Chung, T., & Grant, J. E. (2013). Neurobiological considerations in understanding behavioral treatments for pathological gambling. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 27(2), 380.

Redden, S.A., Leppink, E.W., & Grant, J.E. (2015). Clinical and cognitive correlates of young adult at-risk gamblers with and without depression. Annals of Clinical Psychiatry, 27(4), 261-266.

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University of Missouri, Columbia

Principal Investigator: Wendy S. Slutske, PhD

Award: $396,559 in 2017

Only about 10% of individuals with disordered gambling (DG) seek treatment and there is evidence that studies based on this treatment-seeking minority may not generalize to the larger population of those with DG in the community. A challenge to conducting community-based studies of DG is the fact that it is relatively rare. In this proposed Center of Excellence we have taken on this challenge by assembling a unique suite of six community-based studies of DG along with a team of investigators who have the requisite expertise to interrogate these data. Together, these projects will move us forward in answering the following pressing questions about the etiology and epidemiology of DG: (1) is living in a disadvantaged neighborhood a (potentially malleable) environmental cause of DG?, (2) where among the ~20,000 genes in the human genome are the variants associated with the risk for DG? (3) do the genetic variants associated with DG overlap with the genetic variants associated with the risk for alcohol, nicotine, and cannabis use disorders and individual differences in personality traits?, (4) what is the long-term stability of DG, and (5) are the correlates of DG similar across the lifespan (i.e. in the 20’s, 30’s, and 40’s)? The projects include secondary analyses of data from (a) two Australian twin cohorts (with a high prevalence of DG), (b) a large longitudinal study conducted in the UK, (c) a large longitudinal study conducted in the US (d) a large Swedish epidemiologic study (the largest community-based study of DG yet conducted), and (e) a large longitudinal study of a complete New Zealand birth cohort (the longest longitudinal follow-up of DG yet conducted). The availability of these valuable and unique datasets will allow us to conduct impactful research at very low cost.

The Center of Excellence will be based in the Department of Psychological Sciences at the University of Missouri, which has more tenured faculty members with a focus on addictions research than any other psychology department in the world. The addictions faculty have already established a successful program for training the next generation of addictions scholars, primarily focused on alcohol. We will expand the scope of this training program to also provide training in research on DG. Historically, gambling research at the University of Missouri has been widely cited by the scientific community (over 2,000 citations in 2000-2016) as well as by the mass media (e.g., stories in Time, USA Today, and the Wall Street Journal). We will maintain this tradition and seek out improved methods of disseminating our research findings through the involvement of our home department and the University of Missouri News Bureau.

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