PSYC214 Lab Report: Decision-Making, Alcohol Use in Adolescents

This lab report investigates the neuropsychological and behavioral changes during adolescence, focusing on decision-making deficits and their relationship to alcohol use and gambling. The study utilizes the IOWA Gambling Task (IGT), UPPS-P Impulsive Behavior scale, and the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) to assess decision-making skills, impulsivity, and alcohol consumption in adolescent male participants. The research aims to determine if poor decision-making is correlated with the severity of gambling and alcohol addiction problems, comparing problem gamblers (PGs) and non-problem gamblers (NPGs). Results indicate that PGs exhibit reduced decision-making abilities, higher alcohol intake, and more irrational gambling-related beliefs compared to NPGs. The report highlights significant correlations between gambling severity, behavioral misrepresentations, and alcohol issues, as well as the association between poor decision-making and specific cognitive biases like interpretive bias. Regression analyses confirm that behavioral distortions, decision-making deficits, and alcohol use significantly contribute to the likelihood of developing gambling problems. The study emphasizes the importance of understanding these factors to address and prevent adolescent gambling and alcohol-related issues.

Running Head: TITLE OF THE ASSIGNMENT 1
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Abstract
In the thesis of psychology, studies have investigated that the behavioral and the
neuropsychological changes which took place developmentally during the youth period. The
significant studies have continuously taken notice of a certain problem in the decision-
making ability of youth and children. These problems also been notified as a result of
incomplete brain development. But there is a lot of aspect or point of view of the subject that
has not been observed yet. Most noteworthy we are going to study the research regarding this
kind of subjects. They are thoroughly explained in the main body of the paper. So we are
going to observe a few methods and significantly follow the 104 male youth participants of
the IOWA Gambling task. The study mainly follows the Gambling Related Cognitions Scale
and the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification within the children.

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Table of Contents
Introduction..............................................................................................................................4
Method......................................................................................................................................4
UPPS-P Impulsive Behaviour................................................................................................4
Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test.............................................................................5
IOWA Gambling Task:..........................................................................................................5
Measures & Design................................................................................................................6
Procedure..................................................................................................................................7
Results.......................................................................................................................................8
Discussion..................................................................................................................................9
References...............................................................................................................................11

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Introduction
The human standard of living relies on the capacity to make the right decisions. This capacity
is highly critical during the growth of children and adolescents. Teenagers are needed to
create significant choices that have an impact on success, such as the topics to be educated
and their selection of mates. However, throughout this era, the capacity to make choices has
been shown not to be ideal. In the last few millennia, many scientists have become interested
in knowing the development of lifelong decision-making skills (Ciccarelli et al., 2016).
In short, psychological theology has shown that grown-ups perform better than youth on
IOWA Gambling Test (IGT), which, in turn, perform better than kids, as illustrated by the
favorable connection among both age and IGT efficiency, and attributed bad decision making
to nonlinear growth of para-cortical and pre-frontal areas underpinning choice-making. This
decision making dysfunction, illustrated by the persistence of poor decisions when
conducting IGT, has been identified in several types of research using
psychopathological populations, like, drugs and alcohol-addicts.However, one issue left
unresolved by prior studies is if bad decision taking is correlated with the seriousness of
addiction problems in young gamblers as it has been identified within the older gamblers
(Kaiser et al., 2012). Equating decision-making efficiency in youth either with or without
gambling addictions is essential to determine whether bad decision-making skills related to
teen gambling addictions.
So, we are discussing the mentioned on the basis of the IGT experiment case study and lab
report to conclude certain decision and recommendations.
Method
UPPS-P Impulsive Behavior
The UPPS-P Irrational Behavior Level is really a 59 item metric that evaluates five
approaches to irrational behavior: not positive Urgency, Constructive Urgency, absence of

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Premeditation, absence of Persistence, and Sensation Search. Not positive Urgency relates to
the inclination to behave rashly when feeling distressed, potentially as a means of alleviating
adverse effects. Participants are questioned to rate their contract with each declaration and
use the Likert scale of four points, with a strong consensus on one side and a serious
disagreement in the other. Participant results on the Critical Emergency subscale were of
concern to the current research. Efficiency for Negative Emergency in the sample was high,
with internal consistency (Lin et al., 2013).
Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test
The Liquor Use Mental illnesses and Identification Procedure is a diagnostic tool used
to identify people in danger of dangerous drinking. It comprises of 10 issues that give rise to
a test score depicting the of one's danger. Queries evaluate consumption of alcohol, e.g.
"How often do you consume alcohol? “Drink behavior, e.g." How often over the previous
year did you find that you’ve been unable to stop the drinking problem when you began
drinking? “Adverse behavioral responses e.g." How much in the previous year you’ve been
unable to recognize what occurred the previous night because of the drinking? “And the
questions of drinking-related consequences, "Had you ever or somebody else been wounded
as a consequence of alcohol?”. For eight of the issues, respondents are asked to describe the
rate on a 5-point scale. For the final two issues that evaluate the existence of drinking-related
effects, respondents are asked to pick a reply from a three-point measure. The lowest and
highest scores on the complete AUDIT scale were null and 40, simultaneously, with a rating
of 8 and above showing a high probability of damaging or dangerous drinking. In the current
research, the AUDIT composite score has been used as a result factor for hazardous drinking.
AUDIT was discovered to have excellent reliability in the current sample (Cowie et al.,
2017).

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AUDIT is a 10 product self-report diagnostic test, consisting of 3 questions on the quantity
and randomness of drinking liquor, 3 questions on alcohol addiction and 4 questions on
liquor-related issues. Each query is rated from 0 which is never to four which implies daily or
mostly daily, and a rating of 8 or more suggests a powerful probability of dangerous or
dangerous consumption of alcohol (Dowling et al., 2017). In the current research .84 95% CI
[.78, .88].
IOWA Gambling Task:
Method
Participant
The sample consisted of 104 young men aged sixteen to nineteen years like
Mage=17.75 years; SDage=0.84 who attended the 3rd, 4th and 5th year of senior high school
in around the Naples district. Subjects were chosen from a big adolescent sample. Only male
youths took part in this research as there were very few girl gambling addicts. Previous
studies have discovered that women begin gambling later than men. As a result, it is probable
that the certain age range under inquiry (sixteen - nineteen years) doesn't include several
female gambling addicts. A specimen of non-problem gamblers (NPGs) consisted of
youthfulness with a score of 0 to 1. Whereas the specimen of problem gamblers (PGs) 1
comprised youths with a South Oaks Gambling Screen Revised for youths of 4 or more. The
two groups of samples were matched according to age (1,102) =2.68, p=.10 and class year.
Measures & Design
Iowa's Gambling Task. IGT is a computer-controlled task which evaluates choice-
making skills and the respondents must pick 1 card at a moment from 4card decks (A, B, C,
D). Unknown to the test subject, 2 decks (A, B) provide elevated instant benefits, yet are
long-term unfavorable because those things result in heavy losses, while the other 2 boards

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(C and D) provide reduced instant benefits, but are beneficial throughout the long term since
they yield in fewer failures. Throughout the context of the assignment, respondents will
discover the best approach to enhance their fictional final earnings. IGT performance is
calculated by dissembling the number of not advantageous decisions (A and B) from
advantageous choice numbers (C and D). A similar calculation for all of the blocks of 20
cards enables researchers to assess adjustments in decision-making policies regarding the
assignment. A worldwide rating under 10 and 100 is suggestive of a deficit in decision
making (Zu Wei Zhai et al., 2017).
South Oaks Gambling Screen Revised for Teenagers. SOGSRA is a version of SOGS
and assesses the seriousness of gambling addictions in youths. It consists of sixteen items
with dichotomous like no yes or no responses linked to gambling conduct over the previous
year. A range between zero and one denotes "non-problem" gambling, a score between two
and three indicates "at-risk" gambling, also a total of four or more indicates "problem"
gambling in the current research.
The GRCS assesses five aspects of gambling-related unreasonable convictions: Gambling
Relevant Cognitive Scale. Gambling expectations are anticipated advantages such as
improving gambling mood;
The impression of command is the presumed capacity to regulate gambling results;
predictive regulation is the misallocation of source and effect relationships to unrelated
occurrences; the perceived failure to stop gambling conduct is the inability to prevent it; and
interpretive bias is a mistake of evaluation, such as the assignment of wins to private skills.
The GRCS consists of 23 objects with a 7-point Likert response scale. Higher scores show
greater rates of irrational faith. In the current research, CA was sufficient for the complete
scale α= .90, 95% CI [.87,.93] and for every scale: gambling oriented expectationsα= .68,
95% CI

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[.57,.77], control deception α= .57, 95% CI [.42, .69], probabilistic control α= .69, 95% CI
[.59, .78], perceived failure to stopα= .84, 95% CI [.79,.88], and interpretive bias α= .82, 95%
CI [.75,.87].
Procedure
Informal approval was acquired from the director of the college prior to the
compilation of information, alongside a letter confirming the goals of the study and the
instruments to be used. After that, written consent was acquired from learners or their
guardians when they were under eighteen years of age. Individuals were notified that they
might participate in experimental research on gambling issues, which the research would be
confidential, and they could retire at any moment. Data assession took place in two stages.
During the first stage, respondents finished a series of paper &pencil survey questions in the
school for a complete period of 30 minutes. In the second stage, each respondent carried out a
computerized observational assignment, i.e. the IGT, in a college classroom on an individual
basis. Respondents were informed of this factor after the exploratory session.
Results
The amount of alcohol use was significantly different between certain two groups:
PGs revealed greater rates of difficulty drinking than NPGs. The assessment of the IGT
performance over the five phases proved the primary impact of the stage (4,98) = 5.83,
p<.001, η2= 0.19., indicating an enhancement in efficiency for all members during most of
the course of the assignment. The primary impact of the Community F (1,101) =5.56, p<.001
η2= 0.05, was also shown to indicate that NPGs did better than PGs. No interaction of Group
X Stage has been discovered (4,98) = 0.57, p=.69. Alcohol use has not been discovered to
have a major impact here - F (4,98) = 1.69, p=.16. Thus, the PG performed considerably
greater than for the NPGs on unreasonable belief complete score (GRCS) on all its predictor
variables, namely gambling expectations, the illusion of authority, predictive control, failure

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to stop, and interpretive bias, with a major impact of the AUDIT score (1,101)= 15.55,
p<.001, η2=0.13. The correlational assessment showed that behavioral distortions (GRCS),
bad decision-taking (IGT) and excessive liquor usage (AUDIT) is all correlated with
gambling problemsχ2(1, n=104) =
43.92, p<. 001. Significant connections between cognitive biases and liquor use have been
noted and decision-making (IGT) has been associated with a particular dimension of
cognitive bias. The logistic correlation was calculated, including behavioral and self-
reporting factors as indicators, and PG intensity as a criterion. During the first phase,
behavioral distortions (GRCS) were a major indicator of gambling disturbance, a major
predictor of gambling dysfunction, the proportion of describing overlap with mental
distortions because the only indicator was 46%. After that, including cognitive distortions,
consumption of alcohol was included in the regression model and was significant, χ2 (2,
n=104) = 4.59, p<.05, adding 4 % of the clarified variance to the model. In the end, bad
decision-taking (IGT) was included in the regression model and was surely significant χ2 (3,
n=104) = 4.22, p<.05, contributing three percent of the reported variance to the model. As a
consequence, the final regression model described 53 percent of the variation of the measure
that was provided before, with a general classification precision of 78.8 percent, and
indicated that behavioral distortions, choice-making, and alcohol usage resulted in a greater
probability of developing gambling problems.
Discussion
The findings obviously showed that youth problem gamblers were reduced in
decision-making, revealed more severe alcohol intake, and had more absurd gambling
oriented views than non-problem gambling colleagues. Substantial associations have been
noted around gambling severity, behavioral misrepresentations, and alcohol issues. Bad
decision-making (using IGT) was connected with a particular cognitive bias, such as

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interpretive bias. Regression analyses verified that behavioral distortions, alcohol use, and
poor decision-making were strong predictors of youth gambling complexity problems. The
previous study on choice-making in youth gamblers did not take into account connections
with problem gambling using experimentation techniques. Such choice-making theology has
attributed bad juvenile decision-making skills to improper maturation of the intellect at this
point of adolescent life. Higher severe alcohol abuses in youth gambling addicts in this study
and the correlation between alcohol-related and gambling-related issues confirms prior
studies indicating a greater probability of addictive comorbidity (e.g. tobacco, liquor, &/or
substance use) among youth with gambling issues. This is attributed to the reality that several
risk variables, such as family background, poor self-esteem, and anxiety, are prevalent to
both illnesses, and that engaging in one addiction may boost the probability of acquiring
another. The relationship between gambling and liquor issues seen in this study is constantly
with an experimental study that shows that abuse of alcohol is an indicator of harmful
gambling in young men.
The reduced decision-making efficiency observed in juvenile problem gamblers i.e.
compared to nonproblem gamblers as stated by frequency of choices towards cards from
disadvantaged decks. This outcome was mainly compatible with many prior results that
showed a decreased efficiency of the IGT in problem gamblers. Bad decision-taking has been
attributed to streightness to future implications, which concerns the problem of learning from
past errors and the failure to waive instant and visible rewards for less coherent rewards that
enhance long-term earnings. It is also assumed that in the future also they cannot use
emotional procedures to make decisions on the grounds of this myopia. These mental
mechanisms, which happen as psychological states, assume the benefits and disadvantages of
each option, assisting people to make choices. Similarly, in prefrontal cortex patients,
problem gamblers have been unable to use such psychological states to create healthy

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choices. In the current research, due to the regular comorbidity for both substance
dependence and gambling addiction, the decision taking disability seen in respondents with
extreme gambling was related to liquor use. The results of this research have shown that
gambling participation appears to have a negative impact on decision-making skills that are
actually lacking in youths. It is a bad thing to think that gambling is more appealing to teens
compared to adults because of its still mature brain development which leads to an
uncertainty period in several behaviors, such as addictive behavior, which can lead to long-
term damage. It is also a vicious cycle, as gambling can damage everyone's decision-making
skills. This theory describes why young players were more disabled when they were
developing under the same conditions than non-problem players in decision making.

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References
Ciccarelli, M., Griffiths, M. D., Nigro, G., & Cosenza, M. (2016). Decision-making,
cognitive distortions and alcohol use in adolescent problem and non-problem
gamblers: An experimental study. Journal of gambling studies, 32(4), 1203-1213.
Cowie, M. E., Stewart, S. H., Salmon, J., Collins, P., Al-Hamdani, M., Boffo, M., ... &Wiers,
R. W. (2017). Distorted beliefs about luck and skill and their relation to gambling
problems and gambling behavior in Dutch gamblers. Frontiers in psychology, 8,
2245.
Dowling, N. A., Merkouris, S. S., Greenwood, C. J., Oldenhof, E., Toumbourou, J. W., &
Youssef, G. J. (2017). Early risk and protective factors for problem gambling: A
systematic review and meta-analysis of longitudinal studies. Clinical psychology
review, 51, 109-124.
Kaiser, A. J., Milich, R., Lynam, D. R., &Charnigo, R. J. (2012). Negative urgency, distress
tolerance, and substance abuse among college students. Addictive Behaviors, 37(10),
1075-1083.
Lin, C. H., Song, T. J., Chen, Y. Y., Lee, W. K., & Chiu, Y. C. (2013). Reexamining the
validity and reliability of the clinical version of the Iowa gambling task: evidence
from a normal subject group. Frontiers in Psychology, 4, 220.
Zu Wei Zhai, S. W. Y., Steinberg, M. A., Wampler, J., Hoff, R. A., Krishnan-Sarin, S., &
Potenza, M. N. (2017). Relationships between perceived family gambling and peer
gambling and adolescent problem gambling and binge-drinking. Journal of gambling
studies, 33(4), 1169.