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Let me just add that I agree with almost everything quoted in the post above, but disagree that 2+2 is not a good place to study problem gamblers.
First, as stated earlier, just because you are good does not mean you don't have a problem.
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Yeah. More likely to become addicted when there are positives (an income) than when it's mainly costs. It's just that becoming addicted is generally less harmful.
There are dangers, though. Non gamblers looking for gambling costs always focus on money so winners naturally dismiss their concerns but both overlook other costs, eg time or life balance. If someone was asking my advice about a 17/18 year old getting into poker I'd be more concerned by the impacts of winning than losing. (Quickly add that I wouldn't discourage it; poker is a wonderful, challenging, fun, educating, maturing activity). Losing is most likely to cause him to quit while winning may cause him to quit school and maybe much more.
Generally, though, the skills required to win at poker create a person better able to assess and deal with these problems.
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James