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Risk factors
By Mayo Clinic staffCompulsive gambling affects both men and women and cuts across cultural and socio-economic lines. Although most people who play cards or wager never develop a gambling problem, certain factors are more often associated with compulsive gamblers:
- Other behavior or mood disorders. People who seem to gamble compulsively often have substance abuse problems, mood and personality disorders, as well as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Many compulsive gamblers abuse alcohol, and many compulsive gamblers experience major depression.
- Age. Compulsive gambling is more common in younger people.
- Sex. Compulsive gambling is more common in men than women. Women who do gamble typically start later in life, are more apt to have depression and gamble as a way of escape from problems, and may become addicted more quickly.But in recent years, gambling patterns among men and women have become more similar.
- Family influence. If your parents had a gambling problem, the chances are greater that you will too.
- Medications used to treat Parkinson's disease. Medications called dopamine agonists have a rare side effect that results in compulsive behavior in some people.
- Certain personality characteristics. Being highly competitive, a workaholic, restless or easily bored may increase your risk.
References
- Pathologic gambling. In: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders DSM-IV-TR. 4th ed. Arlington, Va.: American Psychiatric Association; 2000. http://www.psychiatryonline.com. Accessed Oct. 4, 2010.
- Granero R, et al. Sex differences among treatment-seeking adult pathologic gamblers. Comprehensive Psychiatry. 2009;50:173.
- Unwin BK, et al. Pathologic gambling. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Oct. 4, 2010.
- Holst RJ, et al. Brain imaging studies in pathological gambling. Current Psychiatry Reports. 2010;12:418.
- Tarsy D. Pharmacologic treatment of Parkinson disease. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Oct. 4, 2010.
- Goudriaan AE, et al. Pathological gambling: A comprehensive review of biobehavioral findings. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews. 2004;28:123.
- Leung KS, et al. Treatment of pathological gambling. Current Opinion in Psychiatry. 2008;22:69.
- Williams WA, et al. Pathological Gambling. In: Koob GF, et al. Encyclopedia of Behavioral Neuroscience. London, U.K.: Elsevier Academic Press; 2010:29.
- Questions and answers. Gamblers Anonymous. http://www.gamblersanonymous.org/qna.html. Accessed Oct. 4, 2010.
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