Risk Reduction Helps Tame Teen Gambling: Adolescents with Pathological Gambling Problems May Have Comorbid Psychiatric Conditions

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HOUSTON -- Relatively few adolescents develop a serious problem with gambling, so the issue may be one of "harm reduction" rather than the treatment of an addiction, said Gagan Dhaliwal, M.D., at the annual meeting of the American Society for Adolescent Psychiatry.

For most people, gambling is a form of entertainment without serious negative consequences, since it lacks the element of physical harm to the body caused by substance abuse. Yet some adolescents develop a preoccupation with gambling and find themselves unable to stop despite repeated attempts and a desire to do so. Those teens may need treatment similar to that used for other addictions, said Dr. Dhaliwal, of the …