Washington, Oct 24 : One in 10 adolescents lie, steal, take drugs, gamble and violate social norms, behaviours known as conduct disorder, according to a new study.

Other symptoms include vandalism, impulsivity, verbal and physical aggression and cruelty to pets or people. Interestingly, female adolescents exhibit these behaviours to a much lesser degree.

"Youth without symptoms of conduct disorder have a five percent rate of risky or problem gambling," says John W. Welte, from Buffalo University Research Institute on Addictions (RIA), who led the study.

"Youth with symptoms of conduct disorder have a 23 percent rate of risky or problem gambling."

In a study of 2,274 youth between the ages of 14 and 21, Welte and colleagues reported that the extent to which problem gambling and conduct disorder occurred at the same time was much stronger among younger (14-15 year-old) adolescents.

For the 14-to-15 age-range, the odds of being a risky or problem gambler increased by a remarkable 80 percent with each additional conduct-disorder symptom during the past year, the study showed, said a RIA release.

As the age of the adolescents increased, this effect weakened. For the 20-to-21-year-olds, the researchers found no discernible relationship between conduct disorder and risky problem gambling.

The study was published in the October issue of the Journal of Adolescent Health. (IANS)