Monday, Sept. 18, 2000 | 11:41 a.m.
DES MOINES, Iowa -- A University of Iowa psychiatrist plans to embark on a $170,000 study to learn whether pathological gambling runs in some families.
The research, which will involve interviews of pathological gamblers in Iowa and their immediate families, is the first of its kind, said Dr. Donald Black, a professor at the University of Iowa's College of Medicine.
The findings will be compared to a control group of nongamblers of similar ages and gender.
Black said his preliminary research shows some evidence that pathological gambling runs in families.
"My guess is that we will also find that these families are filled with alcoholism and drug abuse," he said. "How the connection works, I am not exactly sure. But one may predispose itself to another."
The two-year study will be paid for by a grant from the National Center for Responsible Gaming in Kansas City, Mo., which uses money from the casino industry.
Black said there were no strings attached to his research money, and he expects to publish his findings.
About 3 percent of adult Iowans ages 18 and over are considered problem gamblers, said Frank Biagioli, director of the Iowa Problem Gambling Treatment Program.
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