This research examined how a family history of substance use disorders (SUDs) was associated with demographic, clinical, and cognitive characteristics of young adults who gambled. The researchers recruited 576 young adults. Results revealed that about a third of the participants had a family history of SUDs. On demographics, family history of SUDs was related to older age and female gender. On clinical characteristics, family history of SUDs was related to lower quality of life, more alcohol use and smoking, more money lost to gambling, more severe gambling problems, and greater likelihood of any mental disorders (e.g., depression). Family history of SUDs was also related to higher compulsive tendencies. From the cognitive tasks, family history of SUDs was associated with worse ability to adapt to new rules, more errors on spatial working memory, and poorer decision making.
