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How are gambling and substance use influenced by cultural factors? We explore survey data from a community-based convenience sample of Southeast Asian refugees (N = 200) on gambling behavior, substance use, and attitudes toward help-seeking for addiction. Results revealed a high rate of gambling and smoking but not alcohol or marijuana use problems. Individual items on the South Oaks Gambling Screen were endorsed at a high rate and a large proportion of the sample reported five or more gambling problems (24%, n = 47). Common methods of play included house betting, slots, and casino games. In addition, respondents indicated a significant community impact of gambling problems. Cultural factors may relate to high rates of problem gambling in this community sample, and culturally informed assessment of gambling problems may benefit clinical practice. Nontraditional help-seeking approaches may be common among Southeast Asian refugees. Recommendations for culturally sensitive intervention, assessment, and treatment approaches are discussed. We discuss the roles of culture-specific practices and influences on addictive behaviors in the Southeast Asian community. Public Significance Statement: The current community-based convenience sample study of adult Southeast Asian Lao refugees and immigrants revealed a significant impact of gambling behaviors and related problems. Common methods of play included casinos, house betting, and slot machines. Culturally adapted treatment and prevention methods are essential in addressing concerns in Southeast Asian communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The personality traits constraint (CN) and negative emotionality (NE) have been more (CN) or less (NE) consistently associated with alcoholism. The authors examined the association of personality at age 17 with timing of onset and with prospective prediction of nicotine, alcohol, and illicit drug disorders 3 years later in a twin sample (569 females; 432 males). Earlier onset of alcohol and drug disorders (by age 17) was related to significantly lower CN compared with later onsets (by age 20); high NE was related to either onset. NE, as well as CN, uniquely predicted new onsets of all 3 types of substance use disorders by follow-up, with preexisting substance disorders taken into account. Personality traits confer generalized risk for developing any substance disorder, though some traits are more strongly linked with some substance disorders than with others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors examined genetic and environmental contributions to stability and change in heavy drinking from late adolescence to young adulthood in a sample of 1,152 twin pairs. In men, heavy drinking was similarly heritable at ages 17 (h² = .57) and 20 (h² = .39), and its stability owed primarily to common genetic factors. In women, heavy drinking was less heritable than in men at ages 17 (h² = .18) and 20 (h² = .30) and its stability was primarily due to enduring shared environmental influences. P3 amplitude, an event-related brain potential marker of alcoholism risk, was less predictive of heavy drinking in women than in men, providing further support for the proposition that biological factors have less impact on heavy drinking in young adult women than in young adult men. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gambling behaviors tend to increase in prevalence from late adolescence to young adulthood, and the underlying genetic and environmental influences during this period remain largely understudied. We examined the genetic and environmental influences on gambling behaviors contributing to stability and change from ages 18 to 25 in a longitudinal, behavioral genetic mixed-sex twin study design. Participants were enrolled in the Minnesota Twin Family Study. A range of gambling behaviors (maximum frequency, average frequency, money lost, and gambling problems) were assessed at ages 18 and 25. The results of our study support the following conclusions: (a) the genetic and environmental factors impacting a range of gambling behaviors are largely similar in men and women, (b) genetic factors increase in influence from 18 to 25 (21% at age 18 to 57% at age 25), (c) shared environmental factors are influential at age 18, but tend to decrease from ages 18 to 25 (55% at age 18 to 10% at age 25), and (d) nonshared environmental influences are similarly significant and are small to moderate in magnitude at both ages. The findings add to a small yet important research area regarding determinants of youth gambling behaviors and have the potential to inform prevention and intervention efforts. (PsycINFO Database Record, ((c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).)