Mohammad Reza Zarbakhsh Bahri, Natalie Tayim, Abdulnaser Fakhrou, Mohammadreza Davoudi
{"title":"Associations between Adverse Childhood Experiences and Gambling Severity in Youth Online Gamblers: The Mediating Roles of Internalizing, Attention and Externalizing Problems.","authors":"Mohammad Reza Zarbakhsh Bahri, Natalie Tayim, Abdulnaser Fakhrou, Mohammadreza Davoudi","doi":"10.1007/s10899-024-10320-8","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10899-024-10320-8","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>This study examined the association between Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and Gambling Severity (gambling severity), considering the mediating roles of internalizing, externalizing, and attention among youth online gamblers.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>762 youth (age<sub>mean±SD</sub>= 15.03 ± 2.40; age<sub>range</sub> = 10-18 years; 75.3% boys) completed the Persian Gambling Disorder Screening Questionnaire (GDSQ-P), Pediatric Symptom Checklist - Youth Report (Y-PSC), and Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Questionnaire (ACE's section, modified by authors). The analysis was done using the SMART PLS software.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The reliability and discriminant validity of the provided model were assessed using Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). According to the results of the PLS-SEM analysis, the present model demonstrated suitable levels of reliability and validity. Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) significantly affected attention, internalizing, externalizing problems, and gambling severity. Additionally, the level of gambling was directly correlated with ACEs. Moreover, the indirect influence of the independent variable on the dependent variable via the mediators was found to be statistically significant (P < .001).These findings suggest that externalizing behaviors, attention problems, and internalizing symptoms mediate the effect of ACEs on gambling severity. Lastly, fitness indices indicated that our proposed model fit the data well (SRMR = 0.06, d_ULS = 1.15, Chi-square = 1291.461, and NFI = 0.71).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Our study found that ACEs significantly influence gambling severity among youth online gamblers, with internalizing, externalizing, and attention problems mediating this relationship. Practical implications include integrating ACE screening and targeted interventions for associated mental health issues into youth gambling prevention programs to mitigate the risk of problematic gambling behavior.</p>","PeriodicalId":48155,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Gambling Studies","volume":" ","pages":"1559-1573"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2024-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141158856","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Normalization of Chance-Based Mechanisms in Mobile Games for Children: A Descriptive Analysis.","authors":"Wiliam Machado de Andrade","doi":"10.1007/s10899-023-10273-4","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10899-023-10273-4","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Games for mobiles present strategies to monetize not only from selling a title but from financial exchanges that take place in the game. Those microtransactions motivate players to purchase random or surprise items (known as loot boxes) to customize game features or to overcome narrative obstacles necessary to progress to new levels. Researchers associate the practice with gambling if completing the transaction does not mean the acquisition of an item but the chance to receive it. This research quantified gambling-like features in games available for free, classified by Apple's marketplace as suitable for children from 4 to 8 years old, and from the top-downloaded list. The findings reveal normalization traces of chance-based mechanisms in most of the games. According to the research literature, early exposure to such features may result in problem gambling in adult life. This paper concluded that legal changes and more information provided by the marketplaces are needed to raise awareness of gambling-like practices in mobile games.</p>","PeriodicalId":48155,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Gambling Studies","volume":" ","pages":"1517-1537"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2024-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139040751","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"\"If You Don't Arrange Your Bets Well You Will Still Lose\": Gambling Strategies of Visually Impaired Students.","authors":"Ralph Frimpong, Ernest Yeboah Acheampong","doi":"10.1007/s10899-023-10279-y","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10899-023-10279-y","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Few studies have focused on people with hearing loss and intellectual disabilities engaging in gambling activities. However, people with visual impairments' energetic participation in sports betting activities is unexplored. This article highlights sports betting strategies of visually impaired students to understand how their motives affect their gambling behaviours as an alternative to their survival. Six male adults aged between 27 and 40 years participated using semi-structured interviews, which were conducted face-to-face, recorded, transcribed, and thematically analysed with the Braun and Clarke model. Findings show that sports betting prevails in communities fostering peer persuasion including family relations serving as an inducer for visually impaired students. Their strategies are varied including the fewer the better concept based on teams' selection dynamics. While they are inspired by potential economic gains, some recognise it as acquiring entrepreneurial skills because of risk-taking, thus asymmetry and disconnected. The article recommends stakeholders' education to provide better policies that can remind them to bet for leisure or desist from gambling.</p>","PeriodicalId":48155,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Gambling Studies","volume":" ","pages":"1679-1700"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2024-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139681800","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Christine Anne Stone, Kristal Yeung, Lindsay Shaw, Rosa Billi
{"title":"Gambling in Victoria: Changes in Participation, Problem Gambling and Gambling Environment Between 2008 and 2018.","authors":"Christine Anne Stone, Kristal Yeung, Lindsay Shaw, Rosa Billi","doi":"10.1007/s10899-024-10282-x","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10899-024-10282-x","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Gambling and its impacts are an important public health issue. The relationship between gambling, problem gambling and gambling harm is complex and dynamic. Replicate prevalence studies are useful for surveillance and monitoring gambling impacts within jurisdictions. The purpose of this study was to compare changes in gambling and problem gambling in the Victorian adult population between 2008 and 2018 by investigating individual gambling activities and exploring their relationship with the Victorian gambling ecosystem. Gambling participation has decreased; problem gambling prevalence has not. Investigation beyond these summary measures reveals important details: (a) Electronic Gaming Machines (EGMs), casino table games, race and sports betting ('high-risk activities'), informal private betting, and Keno, and their associations with problem gambling endure. Further, the strength of this association is unaffected by changes in product technology, delivery, or the Victorian environment in which they reside, (b) participation in high-risk activities, excluding EGMs, increased while for other activities they decreased, (c) EGMs continue to pose the greatest risk for Victorians, (d) males and young adults continue having a higher problem gambling prevalence rate and preferring both online gambling and high-risk activities (excluding racing favoured by an ageing, older cohort, and Keno, by all ages), and (e) gambling access and exposure proliferated enabling single site multiple gambling opportunities on high-risk activities. Young adults represented a new vulnerable group as they reach the legal gambling age. The most effective interventions (based on major falls in real expenditure (losses) on EGMs, the highest risk activity) were the smoking bans, removal of ATMs from venues and decreases in bet size. There is great potential for prevention, intervention, and minimising harm in the gambling environment.</p>","PeriodicalId":48155,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Gambling Studies","volume":" ","pages":"1103-1135"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2024-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11390773/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139681801","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Juliet Honglei Chen, Marcantonio M Spada, Haofeng Ling, Kwok Kit Tong, Anise M S Wu
{"title":"Desire Thinking About Gambling: Assessment and Associations With Gambling Disorder and Responsible Gambling Among Chinese Gamblers.","authors":"Juliet Honglei Chen, Marcantonio M Spada, Haofeng Ling, Kwok Kit Tong, Anise M S Wu","doi":"10.1007/s10899-024-10313-7","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10899-024-10313-7","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Desire thinking, within the metacognitive model of addictive behaviors, is conceptualized as a transdiagnostic process linked to the escalation and maintenance of craving for various addictive disorders; however, its application to the understanding of gambling and the Chinese community remains at an early stage. The present study aimed to introduce desire thinking into gambling research in the Chinese context by: (1) testing the applicability of its two-factor conceptualization and assessment tool, the Desire Thinking Questionnaire (DTQ), and (2) exploring its association with dysregulated and regulated engagements in gambling (i.e., Gambling Disorder [GD] and responsible gambling [RG], respectively). We conducted a telephone survey in Macao, China, and obtained a probability sample of 837 Chinese adult past-year gamblers (48.5% men; age: M = 41.11, SD = 14.31) with a two-stage cluster random sampling method. Our data indicated the psychometric adequacy of the two-factor DTQ (i.e., verbal perseveration and imaginal prefiguration) for measuring Chinese gamblers' desire thinking about gambling. After controlling for craving and demographics, desire thinking contributed to an additional 12.1% and 18.9% variance explained in GD tendency and RG behaviors, respectively. This study provides the first empirical evidence of the utility of desire thinking and the DTQ in facilitating gambling research on Chinese gamblers. Our findings also suggest the value of incorporating desire thinking in detecting and treating GD and in promoting RG.</p>","PeriodicalId":48155,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Gambling Studies","volume":" ","pages":"1423-1438"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2024-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140960093","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Assessing the Link Between General Causality Orientations and Problem Gambling, and the Mediational Role of Nonattachment, Greed, and Anhedonia.","authors":"Uibin Lee, Devin J Mills","doi":"10.1007/s10899-024-10290-x","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10899-024-10290-x","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Gambling is common in the US, yet nearly one in three players experience gambling-related problems. Using Self-Determination Theory, this study explores how three causality orientations-autonomous, controlled, and impersonal-affect the severity of problem gambling. The study further investigates the mediating roles of nonattachment, dispositional greed, and anhedonia to illuminate how these orientations relate to problem gambling. The data from 675 participants (59% male; Mean age = 40.4 years, SD = 12.9) via Amazon's Mechanical Turk were collected following a screening procedure to identify at-risk players. Findings showed that dispositional greed mediated the impact of a controlled orientation on problem gambling severity, while anhedonia mediated the effect of impersonal orientation. Unexpectedly, nonattachment did not explain the effect of autonomous orientation on problem gambling, though a negative association was still observed. This research enhances understanding of how individual differences and causality orientations contribute to problem gambling behavior. The implications are discussed.</p>","PeriodicalId":48155,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Gambling Studies","volume":" ","pages":"1349-1365"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2024-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140144384","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Harms from Other People's Gambling: Associations with an Individual's Own Gambling Behaviours, Health Risk Behaviours, Financial Problems, General Health, and Mental Wellbeing.","authors":"Charley Wilson, Nadia Butler, Zara Quigg","doi":"10.1007/s10899-024-10291-w","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10899-024-10291-w","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This study aimed to explore relationships between being an 'affected other' (AO) and an individual's own gambling, health risk behaviours, financial problems, poor general health, and low mental wellbeing. A cross-sectional survey using representative and supplementary convenience samples was undertaken with 1234 residents of a British Island aged 16 + years. Being an AO was measured as having a partner or relative who has been gambling regularly in the past 12 months. PGSI was used to assess gambling severity. Health risk behaviours included: poor diet, low physical activity, daily smoking, and binge drinking. Other measures included experiencing financial problems, poor general health, and low mental wellbeing. Analyses were performed using χ<sup>2</sup> and binary logistic regressions. 11.0% of participants were AOs. AOs were more likely to gamble at at-risk/problem-gambling levels and experience financial problems compared to those who were not affected others. The significant relationship between being an AO and low mental wellbeing was mediated by experiencing financial problems. The relationship between being an AO and engaging in two or more health risk behaviours was no longer significant after controlling for sociodemographics and an individual's own gambling. The relationship between being an AO and poor general health was no longer significant after controlling for sociodemographics, health risk behaviours and an individual's own gambling. AOs experienced risks to health and wellbeing, with findings not limited to AOs specifically with a relationship to an individual with problem-gambling. Therefore, support for AOs should be more widely available, aiming to address AOs' needs holistically.</p>","PeriodicalId":48155,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Gambling Studies","volume":" ","pages":"1-15"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2024-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11390759/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140137364","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Catherine D'Hondt, Patrick Roger, Arvid O I Hoffmann, Daria Plotkina
{"title":"Is There a Gender Gap in the Birthday-Number Effect? The Case of Lotto Players and the Role of Sequential Choice.","authors":"Catherine D'Hondt, Patrick Roger, Arvid O I Hoffmann, Daria Plotkina","doi":"10.1007/s10899-024-10288-5","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10899-024-10288-5","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The literature on lottery gambling shows that players do not select numbers randomly, a phenomenon which is called conscious selection. Mainly, players prefer \"small\" numbers (less than thirty), either because of the existence of small lucky numbers or because they are victims of the so-called birthday-number effect. Because lotto games are parimutuel, such preferences result in poor ticket choices in terms of achieving below average returns. Using data from Belgium, where approximately 10% of the population plays lotto games every week, this paper extends prior literature by documenting the existence of a gender gap in the birthday-number effect, with women displaying a stronger birthday-number effect than men, as well as the non-persistence of the birthday-number effect (and consecutively of the gender gap) when participants are asked to fill in a second lotto ticket immediately after their first one. The disappearance of the birthday-number effect in sequential choices appears to be driven by response speed, with participants being twice as fast to fill in the second ticket compared to the first one. Moreover, we find that participants who bet on their birthday numbers take significantly more time to complete their ticket. Contrary to prior research, we find that the strength of the birthday-number effect is positively related to deliberative number choices, not intuitive and automatic number choices. Our results are robust to controlling for potential confounding effects including those related to participants' age, education, self-esteem, and superstitious beliefs.</p>","PeriodicalId":48155,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Gambling Studies","volume":" ","pages":"1439-1463"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2024-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140307325","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Anthony M Battaglia, Lana Vedelago, Sophie G Coelho, Christian Baumgartner, Michael P Schaub, Sherry H Stewart, James MacKillop, David C Hodgins, Jeffrey D Wardell, Roisin M O'Connor, Hyoun S Kim, Matthew T Keough
{"title":"Psychometric Validation of the Gambling Craving Scale in a Treatment-Seeking Sample.","authors":"Anthony M Battaglia, Lana Vedelago, Sophie G Coelho, Christian Baumgartner, Michael P Schaub, Sherry H Stewart, James MacKillop, David C Hodgins, Jeffrey D Wardell, Roisin M O'Connor, Hyoun S Kim, Matthew T Keough","doi":"10.1007/s10899-024-10306-6","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10899-024-10306-6","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The Gambling Craving Scale (GACS) is a multifaceted measure of gambling craving. Initial validation work by Young and Wohl (2009) in university student samples showed that the GACS had a three-factor structure capturing dimensions of Desire, Anticipation, and Relief. Despite its potential clinical utility as a measure of craving, the GACS has yet to be validated in people seeking treatment for gambling problems. Accordingly, we examined the psychometric properties in a sample of people (N = 209; M<sub>age</sub> = 37.66; 62.2% female) participating in a randomized controlled trial testing a novel online treatment for problem gambling. We predicted the GACS would have a three-factor structure. In addition, we also examined measurement invariance across sex and problem gambling risk status. Finally, we assessed concurrent validity of the factors with other measures of problem gambling severity and involvement. Exploratory structural equation modeling findings supported a three-factor structure that was invariant across the groups tested. Each of the Desire, Anticipation, and Relief subscales were significant positive predictors of problem gambling severity and symptoms, and some form of gambling behaviour. Findings show the GACS is a promising scale to assess multidimensional craving experiences among people in treatment for gambling problems.</p>","PeriodicalId":48155,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Gambling Studies","volume":" ","pages":"1761-1778"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2024-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140872068","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Benjamin A McTigue, Andrew C Talk, Kylie Rice, Adam J Rock
{"title":"Cue-Reactive Phenomenology Mediates the Relationship Between Positive Schizotypy and Cue-Reactive Urge to Gamble in Poker-Machine Gamblers.","authors":"Benjamin A McTigue, Andrew C Talk, Kylie Rice, Adam J Rock","doi":"10.1007/s10899-024-10310-w","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10899-024-10310-w","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Although ubiquitous in numerous nightlife cultures, poker-machines present a high risk for problematic use and addiction. Previous research has demonstrated that gambling cues (e.g., flashing lights) can activate gambling urges in poker-machine gamblers. However, the processes that contribute to the maintenance of cue-reactive urges to gamble remain unclear. Consequently, the present study explored whether positive schizotypy predicted gambling urge, and whether cue-reactive altered state of awareness, cue-reactive altered time sense, and cue-reactive absorption mediated this relationship. Seventy adults aged between 19 and 68 (M = 48.86, SD = 12.82) participated in an online cue-reactivity experiment. Participants first completed the Problem Gambling Severity Index and the Unusual Experiences subscale of the Short Oxford-Liverpool Inventory of Feelings and Experiences. Subsequently, at three time points (i.e., baseline, directly after a neutral cue, and directly after a gambling cue) participants completed the Altered State of Awareness, Altered Time Sense, and Absorption subscales of the Phenomenology of Consciousness Inventory and a visual analogue scale measuring cue-reactive urge to gamble. It was found that positive schizotypy was significantly positively correlated with cue-reactive urge to gamble. Additionally, cue-reactive altered state of awareness, cue-reactive altered time sense, and cue-reactive absorption mediated this relationship. The theoretical, clinical and practical implications are discussed.</p>","PeriodicalId":48155,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Gambling Studies","volume":" ","pages":"1499-1516"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2024-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11390803/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140899553","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}