| | |  | Last Updated: Tuesday, June 19, 2007 |  | | | Gambling Addiction is All in the Family
- Monday, 27 Mar 2006
Gambling addiction runs in the family, this according to a study performed by the University of Iowa and published in the Journal of Psychiatry Research. The study also revealed that alcoholism, drug abuse and other anti social behavior patterns were in higher numbers amongst families that were classified as problem gambling family units. Scientists are now convinced that some type of gene is being transferred within the family which increases a person’s chances of developing a problem gambling habit.
The study interviewed people who were classified as having a pathological gambling habit, as well as their first degree relatives. It was concluded that compulsive gambling does run in the family and this, scientists say, is the first step towards solving the problem. The scientists add that once it has been demonstrated that gambling does run in the family, the process of finding the ‘default’ gene can begin. The leader of the study hopes that it will lead to molecular genetic studies of pathological gambling. Further, It is hoped that helping patients understand that pathological gambling runs in families will help them break the cycle.
The study found that the average age of the onset of compulsive gambling was 36. The average age for men was 34, and for women it was 39. While women may begin gambling later in life, they reach the maximum level of severity faster than men do. More than half of the compulsive gamblers interviewed were either single, divorced or widowed. It was noted that the problem of obsessive gambling had become more wide-spread over the past 20 years with the easier availability of gambling venues.
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