An Exploratory Study of Shopping to Relieve Tension or Anxiety in Adolescents: Health Correlates and Gambling-Related Perceptions and Behaviors.

The desire to escape from pressures/anxiety represents an important motivation for problematic engagement with short-term rewarding behaviors that could contribute to the development of recognized and candidate behavioral addictions, including problematic shopping, a prevalent condition among youth in the U.S.A. characterized by excessive shopping cognitions/behaviors that lead to distress/impairment. However, to date, the specific correlates of shopping to relieve anxiety or tension have yet to be evaluated. We aimed at addressing this gap by analyzing data (N = 2556) from a high-school survey from Connecticut in an exploratory fashion. Adolescents who acknowledged experiencing a growing tension or anxiety that could only be relieved by shopping were classified as having negative-reinforcement shopping and compared to the remaining students. Data were analyzed in chi-square and logistic regression models to examine negative-reinforcement shopping in relation to socio-demographics, health correlates, gambling-related perceptions/attitudes, and problem-gambling severity/gambling behaviors. Negative-reinforcement shopping was more frequent in female and Hispanic students, was linked to more permissive gambling attitudes and at-risk/problematic gambling, and was associated with the use of alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, and other drugs, dysphoria/depression, and weapon-carrying and physical fighting. Taken together, these findings highlight adverse measures of health and functioning linked to negative-reinforcement shopping that may be particularly relevant to girls and Hispanic youth. Additional efforts to prevent negative outcomes are warranted.

Casino Gambling in Adolescents: Gambling-Related Attitudes and Behaviors and Health and Functioning Relationships.

Recreational and problem gambling have been linked with adverse health and functioning outcomes among adolescents. Youth may gamble and engage in other risk-taking behaviors in casinos. There are limited data available regarding casino gambling in high-school students, and factors linked to adolescent gambling in casinos have yet to be systematically investigated. To address this gap, we analyzed cross-sectional data from 2010 Connecticut high-school students with chi-square tests and logistic regression models to examine casino gambling in relation to at-risk/problem gambling (ARPG) with respect to sociodemographic characteristics, gambling perceptions & attitudes, health/functioning measures and gambling behaviors. Approximately 11 % of adolescents acknowledged gambling in casinos. ARPG was more frequent and gambling perceptions were more permissive among adolescents endorsing casino gambling. Stronger relationships between ARPG and heavy alcohol and drug use and weaker relationships between ARPG and engagement in extracurricular activities, gambling with friends, gambling with strangers and gambling for financial reasons were observed among adolescents endorsing casino gambling. In conclusion, gambling in casinos was endorsed by a sizable minority of adolescents who gamble, and prevention efforts should consider targeting permissive attitudes towards gambling, adolescent drinking and participation in extracurricular activities when addressing underage casino gambling.

Excitement-Seeking Gambling in Adolescents: Health Correlates and Gambling-Related Attitudes and Behaviors.

Motivational characteristics such as excitement-seeking are key components of models of addiction, including problem gambling. Previous studies have established associations between excitement-seeking and problem gambling in youth. However, these studies have employed dimensional psychological assessments which are unlikely to be routinely administered. Other approaches to conceptualize excitement-seeking could be of value. In the present study, we employed a single question (What are the reasons that you gamble?) to identify adolescents who reported excitement-seeking motivation for gambling. Cross-sectional data from 2030 adolescent gamblers who participated in a Connecticut high-school survey were examined. Gambling perceptions and correlates of problem-gambling severity were examined relative to excitement-seeking and non-excitement-seeking gambling. Gambling perceptions were more permissive and at-risk/problem gambling was more frequent among adolescents with excitement-seeking gambling versus non-excitement-seeking gambling. A weaker relationship between problem-gambling severity and moderate and heavy alcohol use was observed for excitement-seeking versus non-excitement-seeking gambling. Excitement-seeking gambling is associated with more permissive gambling-related attitudes and riskier gambling behaviors and may account for some variance in adolescent risk of heavy alcohol use. A single question may provide important information for identifying adolescents who are at elevated risk of problem gambling and associated negative outcomes, although the utility of the question in specific settings warrants direct examination, especially given the observed high prevalence of excitement-seeking motivations for gambling.

Self-injurious behavior and gambling-related attitudes, perceptions and behaviors in adolescents.

Gambling is prevalent among adolescents and adolescents are vulnerable to experiencing gambling-related problems. Although problem gambling and suicidal behavior have been linked in adults and self-injurious behaviors may predict future suicidality, prior studies have not investigated relationships between problem-gambling severity and self-injurious behavior in adolescents. Data from 2234 Connecticut high-school students were analyzed in chi-square tests and logistic regression models to examine self-injurious behaviors in relation to at-risk/problem gambling with respect to sociodemographic characteristics, gambling attitudes and perceptions, and extracurricular and health measures. Individuals who engaged in self-injurious behavior (versus those who did not) reported more permissive views towards gambling and were more likely to exhibit at-risk/problem gambling. Stronger relationships between problem-gambling severity and gambling in casinos (OR 4.85, 95%CI 1.94, 12.12) and non-strategic gambling (1.92, 95%CI 1.01, 3.66) were observed in adolescents who acknowledged engagement in self-injurious behavior versus those who did not. Links between self-injurious behaviors and more permissive gambling attitudes and perceptions and at-risk/problem gambling suggest the need for improved interventions targeting co-occurring self-injurious behaviors and gambling. Stronger relationships between problem-gambling severity and casino and non-strategic gambling among adolescents with self-injurious behaviors suggest adolescents with self-injurious behavior may engage in specific forms of gambling as maladaptive coping strategies to alleviate suffering. Prevention and treatment approaches targeting distress management and improving adaptive coping skills may be important for targeting self-injurious behaviors in adolescents with at-risk/problem gambling.

Evaluation of liver function after thioacetamide treatment of partially hepatectomized rabbits.

A group of male rabbits was partially hepatectomized, while another group was administered intraperitoneally with aqueous thioacetamide (TAA) solution (2 mg/kg body weight/alternate day) after partial hepatectomy (PH). The blood samples of animals of both groups were collected on day 10, 15, 20, 30, 60 and 90 following PH and used for various haematological and biochemical analyses. The haemoglobin content decreased significantly within 10 days of PH and gained significant increase 3 months after. An abrupt increase was, however, recorded after TAA treatment. All the enzymatic activities remained unchanged except for that of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), which was elevated 87% during the first 10 days of PH. The serum glutamate pyruvate transaminase (SGPT) activity was raised 2.8 times. It was only two months after the operation that the alkaline phosphatase (AP) and LDH activities showed signs of inhibition. The only enzyme affected by TAA treatment after the PH was AP activity, which was inhibited drastically within 15 days after operation. It was concluded that, except for the AP activity and bilirubin and urea content, that essentially decreased in the presence of TAA during the first 15-20 days of experimental period, all the other haematological and biochemical parameters got normalized more quickly in the presence of TAA.

Evaluation of liver function after thioacetamide treatment of partially hepatectomized rabbits.

A group of male rabbits was partially hepatectomized, while another group was administered intraperitoneally with aqueous thioacetamide (TAA) solution (2 mg/kg body weight/alternate day) after partial hepatectomy (PH). The blood samples of animals of both groups were collected on day 10, 15, 20, 30, 60 and 90 following PH and used for various haematological and biochemical analyses. The haemoglobin content decreased significantly within 10 days of PH and gained significant increase 3 months after. An abrupt increase was, however, recorded after TAA treatment. All the enzymatic activities remained unchanged except for that of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), which was elevated 87

during the first 10 days of PH. The serum glutamate pyruvate transaminase (SGPT) activity was raised 2.8 times. It was only two months after the operation that the alkaline phosphatase (AP) and LDH activities showed signs of inhibition. The only enzyme affected by TAA treatment after the PH was AP activity, which was inhibited drastically within 15 days after operation. It was concluded that, except for the AP activity and bilirubin and urea content, that essentially decreased in the presence of TAA during the first 15-20 days of experimental period, all the other haematological and biochemical parameters got normalized more quickly in the presence of TAA.