Metacognition in Pathological Gambling and Its Relationship with Anxious and Depressive Symptomatology

Gambling disorder is associated with elevated comorbidity with depressive and anxious disorders, and one variable that might help in the understanding of this association is metacognition. In the present study, the relationship between gambling and metacognition and the mediating role of metacognition in the relationship between gambling and depressive and anxious symptomatology were assessed. The sample comprised 124 pathological gamblers from centers that assist pathological gamblers and 204 participants from the general population. The results showed that pathological gamblers had higher levels of depressive and anxious symptomatology. Additionally, pathological gamblers had higher scores for positive beliefs about worry, negative beliefs of uncontrollability and danger, and beliefs about the need to control thoughts; these factors were also positively correlated with depressive and anxious symptomatology. Metacognition also fully mediated the association between gambling and depressive and anxious symptomatology. These results suggest that metacognition could contribute to explaining gambling disorder and the symptomatology associated with it.     

Superstitious Beliefs in Gambling Among Problem and Non-Problem Gamblers: Preliminary Data

Superstitious beliefs, defined as a strong conviction based on the erroneous perception of a cause-effect association between two independent events, are considered to play an instrumental role in the maintenance of gambling behaviour. In this preliminary study, responses to eight items assessing superstitious beliefs were compared among 56 electronic gaming machine (EGM) problem gamblers, 22 non-problem EGM and 23 non-EGM non-problem gamblers. Results suggested that problem gamblers endorsed more superstitious beliefs than non-problem gamblers and that such beliefs were correlated with gambling intensity. Further research is required to determine if superstitious beliefs represent a vulnerability factor for the development of problem gambling or emerge as a consequence of involvement in gambling.     

Gambling Responsibly: Who Does It and To What End?

Numerous responsible gambling (RG) strategies are promoted to assist consumers to “gamble responsibly”. However, consumer adoption of RG strategies, how this varies by gambler risk group, and whether usage is associated with non-problematic gambling are largely unknown. This study aimed to (1) determine how use of RG-related strategies differs amongst regular gamblers by gambler risk group; and (2) identify RG-related strategies whose usage predicts non-problem/low risk gambling. Regular Australian gamblers on high-risk products (N = 860), recruited through gambling venues and an online wagering operator, were surveyed about their use of RG strategies promoted on the website of their jurisdiction’s main RG agency. Knowledge of RG strategies was reasonably high amongst all gambler risk groups, but lower-risk groups were more likely to use RG strategies. A logistic regression correctly predicted 82.1 % of lower-risk gamblers and 77.2 % of higher-risk gamblers. Predictors of lower-risk gambling included: greater confidence in their understanding of RG; endorsement of lower gambling expenditure and frequency limits; fewer erroneous gambling beliefs; being less likely to gamble to win money, challenge their skills/beat the odds, or forget about worries and stresses; and being more likely to gamble for pleasure/entertainment. Lower-risk gamblers were more likely to set a money limit in advance of gambling and to balance their gambling with other activities. These findings contribute to understanding which strategies are favoured by different risk groups, and which are associated with safer levels of gambling. They can guide consumer information aimed at enhancing RG consumption and future research on RG consumption.     

Gambling attitudes and beliefs associated with problem gambling: the cohort effect of Baby Boomers

Recreational and problem gamblers alike hold beliefs about gambling that are dysfunctional. These dysfunctional beliefs have been theorized to play a role in problem gambling behaviour. The current study sought to examine the effects of gambling attitudes and beliefs on problem gambling behaviour across three cohorts. A sample of 308 participants consisted of 101 individuals from Generation X, 139 from the Baby Boom cohort and 68 from the Silent Generation. Hierarchical multiple regressions showed that for Baby Boomers, higher scores on scales measuring beliefs about luck and illusions of control were associated with higher scores on measures of problem gambling than for the Silent Generation. Generation X’s higher scores on luck scales were associated with higher scores in problem gambling than the Baby Boom cohort. Attitudes associated with problem gambling did not differ among cohorts. These results suggest that while cohorts may not differ in types or levels of distorted beliefs, they differ in how such distortions relate to problem gambling. Future research should focus on determining whether such cohort effects are indicative of differences within the development and maintenance of problem gambling itself.     

Are Psychology University Student Gamblers Representative of Non-university Students and General Gamblers? A Comparative Analysis

Students recruited from psychology undergraduate university populations are commonly used in psychology research, including gambling studies. However, the extent to which the use of this subpopulation produces findings that can be extrapolated to other groups is questionable. The present study was designed to compare results from university-recruited psychology student gamblers to those obtained from a sample of gamblers recruited from the general population that also included students. An online survey measuring gambling behavior and Internet gambling, attitudes and knowledge about gambling and problem gambling severity was posted on websites accessed by gamblers. Participants were recruited from two sources, a psychology undergraduate university population (n = 461) and online websites (n = 4,801). Results showed university-recruited students differed significantly from both adults and students recruited from the general population in respect to demographic variables and gambling behavior. Psychology undergraduate students were younger, more likely to be female, and had lower incomes. When relevant demographic variables were controlled, psychology undergraduate students were found to gamble less frequently, at different times, and to be at lower-risk for gambling-related problems, but had more irrational beliefs and more negative attitudes towards gambling than gamblers recruited from the general population. Results suggest that caution should be used in extrapolating findings from research using university-recruited psychology student gamblers to wide community populations due to differences related to gambling thoughts, attitudes and behaviors.     

Economic mobility moderates the effect of relative deprivation on financial gambling motives and disordered gambling

This study examined whether a positive association between personal relative deprivation and disordered gambling severity is mediated by the motivation to gamble for financial gain. We hypothesized that this would occur specifically among people who perceived a low personal capacity for upward economic mobility via conventional means of advancement. A sample of community gamblers (N = 196) completed measures of personal relative deprivation, perceptions about upward economic mobility, gambling motivations (financial, coping, enhancement and social) and disordered gambling severity. The predicted moderated mediation model was observed – among people who perceived a low capacity for upward economic mobility, relative deprivation predicted disordered gambling severity via the motivation to gamble for financial gain. This indirect effect did not hold among people who perceived a high capacity for upward mobility. These findings suggest the importance of addressing beliefs about upward economic mobility in gambling prevention and intervention strategies. Among gamblers who feel relatively deprived, it may be advantageous to highlight feasible avenues for upward economic mobility that do not involve gambling.     

A Case of Mistaken Identity? A Comparison of Professional and Amateur Problem Gamblers

Professional gamblers are more likely than amateur gamblers to meet criteria for problem gambling but minimal research has examined their gambling behavior and its consequences. This study compared gambling behavior, problem gambling symptoms, related harms, recognition, and help-seeking among problem semi/professional gamblers (PPGs/PSPGs) and problem amateur gamblers (PAGs). Surveys completed by 57 self-identified professional gamblers, 311 semi-professional gamblers and 4226 amateur gamblers were analysed. PPGs/PSPGs were significantly more likely than PAGs to be male, younger, never married, speak a language other than English at home, and have higher psychological distress, compared to PAGs. PPGs/PSPGs were more likely to gamble more frequently on many skills-based forms, but most also participated in several chance-based forms. PPGs’/PSPGs’ most common problematic gambling form was electronic gaming machines and they were more likely to have problems with sports betting than PAGs. Most PPGs/PSPGs reported coming out behind on all gambling forms over the previous year. PPGs/PSPGs were more likely than PAGs to report chasing losses and numerous detrimental financial gambling consequences. This group’s self-identification as PPGs/PSPGs is clearly inaccurate and perhaps a means to avoid stigma, elevate status and support problem denial. PPGs/PSPGs may represent an extreme example of gamblers with erroneous cognitions and beliefs who lack the required discipline and skill to be successful professional gamblers. The findings identify a group of problem gamblers who may benefit from interventions to dispel their mistaken self-identity, and emphasize the need for more rigorous confirmation of professional gambler status in future research.     

Association between employee department and responsible gambling program perceptions

ABSTRACT

Academic studies of employee perceptions of and engagement with responsible gambling (RG) provide important insight into how employees engage with RG, but typically treat employees as a singular entity. Employees in different departments, however, have different work experiences that affect their likelihood of directly interacting with gamblers. It is conceivable that degree of contact with gamblers affects employees’ opinions about RG. To examine this possibility, we surveyed cohorts of employees at MGM Resorts International (MGM) (N = 2,192) regarding their (1) perceptions of RG programs, (2) behaviors and beliefs about gambling, and (3) comfort with MGM’s corporate RG environment. Using MANCOVA, with years employed in the gambling industry as a covariate, we observed that employees in departments with less direct contact with gamblers were more likely to perceive RG programs to be effective at MGM than employees who have more direct contact with gamblers. In addition, employees who work in the Food, Beverage, & Retail departments were more likely to hold misconceptions about gambling than employees in Back of House operations. The differences in how departments view RG programs suggest that one-size-fits-all approaches to employee training might not be suitable for RG topics, and that position-based training might be necessary.     

Metacognitions in Problem Gambling

Problem gambling is heterogeneous in nature, ranging in severity from occasional but problematic gambling episodes, to extreme, impulsive and pervasive gambling behaviour. Problem gambling may be accompanied by a sense of impaired control and can give rise to financial, interpersonal, legal and vocational costs for the sufferer, their families and society. This study investigated the relationship among metacognitions, anxiety, depression and gambling in a sample of problem gamblers. A total of 91 individuals attending gambling treatment services completed a battery of self-report instruments that consisted of the Metacognitions Questionnaire 30 (MCQ-30), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and the South Oaks Gambling Scale (SOGS). Correlation analyses showed that anxiety, depression and metacognitions were positively and significantly correlated with both gambling consequences and behaviour. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that two metacognitive constructs (negative beliefs about thoughts concerning uncontrollability and danger and beliefs about the need to control thoughts) predicted gambling behaviour independently of anxiety and depression. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that metacognitions play a role in problem gambling.     

Lessons from the Grey Area: A Closer Inspection of At-risk Gamblers

The study takes a closer look at at-risk gamblers, with the objective to see how they differ from no-risk gamblers. The data comes from a national gambling survey in 2002, and the age group is 15–74 years. The sample consists of 4188 current gamblers with no current gambling problems or pathology. The analysis includes cross-tabulations and a logistic regression. The results show that at-risk gamblers differed substantially from no-risk gamblers in terms of demographic characteristics, gambling behaviour and the presence of other assumed risk factors. Demographic segments with a higher risk of falling into the at-risk group are men, young people, divorced or single people, and non-western immigrants. Furthermore, gambling problems in the family, beginners luck and misconceptions about winning chances significantly increased the odds for at-risk gambling. The study concludes that at-risk gamblers deserve more attention from research, that their similarity with problem gamblers increases the likelihood that many of them will eventually develop a gambling problem, and that their tendency to be superstitious about winning chances might be exploited in preventive work.     

Accurately depicting pathological gamblers: Policy and treatment implications

This paper describes results from a 3-year study of pathological gambling in the general population. Two distinct groups of pathological gamblers, based on income, were distinguished in the general population. These two groups varied considerably on several dimensions, including their demographic characteristics, gambling involvement and problematic gambling-related behaviors. These results contradict widely-accepted beliefs about the characteristics and behaviors of pathological gamblers and suggest that efforts in outreach, education and program development must be expanded to include types of pathological gamblers beyond those currently in treatment.This work was funded by Research Grant MH44295 from the Violence & Traumatic Stress Research Branch of the National Institute of Mental Health.     

Examining the effects of gambling-relevant cues on gambling outcome expectancies

There is a consensus in the addictions literature that exposure to addiction-relevant cues can precipitate a desire to engage, or actual engagement, in the addictive behaviour. Previous work has shown that exposure to gambling-relevant cues activates gamblers’ positive gambling outcome expectancies (i.e. their beliefs about the positive results of gambling). The current study examined the effects of a new, arguably more ecologically valid cue manipulation (i.e. exposure to a gambling lab environment vs. sterile lab environment) on 61 regular gamblers’ explicit and implicit gambling outcome expectancies. The authors first tested the internal consistency of their implicit reaction time measure of gambling outcome expectancies, the Affective Priming Task. Split-half reliabilities were satisfactory to high (.72 to .88), highlighting an advantage of this task over other characteristically unreliable implicit cognitive measures. Unexpectedly, no predicted between-lab condition differences emerged on most measures of interest, suggesting that peripheral environmental cues that are not the focus of deliberate attentional allocation may not activate positive outcome expectancies. However, there was some evidence that implicit negative gambling outcome expectancies were activated in the gambling lab environment. This latter finding holds clinical relevance as it suggests that presenting peripheral gambling-related cues while treating problem gamblers may facilitate processing of the negative consequences of gambling.     

Brief Communication: “If You Do Not Gamble, Check This Box”: Perceptions of Gambling Behaviors

Most adults in the U.S. have participated in one or more gambling activities. However, many people engage in gambling activities without considering themselves as gamblers. Four hundred and forty-nine university students returned surveys about their participation in gambling activities. After completing a questionnaire recording the style and frequency of gambling participated in, respondents were asked to indicate whether or not they gambled. Results indicated that gamblers participated in twice as many forms of gambling activities as those who classified themselves as non-gamblers. Scratch tickets and lottery tickets were not generally considered gambling unless purchased frequently. Casino visits, bingo, dog races, football pools, golf matches, local poker games, and other card games were more likely to be viewed as gambling, especially when engaged in frequently. Subjects who had gambled on at least one occasion with bookies, dice games, video poker in a bar, dog or cock fights, or off track betting almost always identified themselves as gamblers. It is recommended that further research be conducted to clarify the gambling activities, and frequency of those activities, that influence a person's perceptions of gambling.     

Chinese Beliefs in Luck are Linked to Gambling Problems via Strengthened Cognitive Biases: A Mediation Test

Problematic patterns of gambling and their harms are known to have culturally specific expressions. For ethnic Chinese people, patterns of superstitious belief in this community appear to be linked to the elevated rates of gambling-related harms; however, little is known about the mediating psychological mechanisms. To address this issue, we surveyed 333 Chinese gamblers residing internationally and used a mediation analysis to explore how gambling-related cognitive biases, gambling frequency and variety of gambling forms (‘scope’) mediate the association between beliefs in luck and gambling problems. We found that cognitive biases and scope were significant mediators of this link but that the former is a stronger mediator than the latter. The mediating erroneous beliefs were not specific to any particular type of cognitive bias. These results suggest that Chinese beliefs in luck are expressed as gambling cognitive biases that increase the likelihood of gambling problems, and that biases that promote gambling (and its harms) are best understood within their socio-cultural context.     

Games of chance or masters of illusion: multiline slots design may promote cognitive distortions

Problem gamblers often have distorted beliefs about gambling, including illusion of control and gambler's fallacy. Most multiline slots games allow players to adjust the number of wagered paylines and the amount bet per line, and over time this control may support incorrect conclusions and promote distorted gambling beliefs. We created software to run simulations of a popular multiline slots game and examined the effects of betting on single versus multiple paylines. Simultaneous multiline betting tends to produce a less varied gambling experience because it increases the frequency of legitimate wins and ‘losses disguised as wins’, while decreasing the occurrence of ‘big wins’. It also shortens consecutive series of losing spins and it prolongs the time a typical player takes to exhaust funds. Indirect control over losing streaks may give some players the false impression that they can play skilfully and predict the occurrence of wins. However, applying five different wagering strategies in our simulations showed that none had any real effect on the average percentage of wagers that would be ‘paid back’ to players as prizes. Player control over multiline slots games may lead frequent gamblers to incorrect conclusions that sustain excessive play despite recurring losses.     

Development of the Drake Beliefs about Chance Inventory

The present research describes the development and validation of a cognitive assessment instrument, the Drake Beliefs about Chance (DBC) inventory, designed to determine and quantify erroneous beliefs about games of chance. Principal components analyses showed that the DBC assesses two primary dimensions, Illusion of Control and Superstition. Correlation analyses showed that scores on these two dimensions are related to higher frequency of gambling behaviors in both adults from the general population and clients from gambling treatment centers. Of the two sets of erroneous beliefs, Illusion of Control was a better predictor of gambling than Superstition. This investigation provides additional evidence that participants in games of chance such as casino gamblers possess certain classes of erroneous beliefs regarding the games they play.     

Gambling Patterns and Problems of Gamblers on Licensed and Unlicensed Sites in France

In 2010 France enacted a law to regulate supply and consumption of online gambling. Its primary aim was to protect citizens from gambling-related harm. This study aims to assess differences in gambling patterns and related harm between online gamblers who use licensed versus unlicensed sites. Participants (N = 3860) completed a self-administered online survey on gambling practices. Pairwise logistic regressions examined the association between the legal statuses of gambling sites people patronized and demographic variables and gambling types. Multivariate logistic regression models explored associations between gambling patterns and related problems according to the legal status of sites people have gambled on. Overall, 53.7 % of online gamblers report gambling exclusively on licensed sites. Those who bet on regulated activities on unlicensed sites, versus licensed sites, are more likely to be female, younger, less educated, inactive in the labor market and are more likely to perceive their financial situation to be difficult. Gambling on unlicensed sites is associated with more intense gambling patterns and more gambling-related problems compared to licensed sites. Findings demonstrate that gambling activities carried out on state licensed sites are associated with less overall harm to gamblers. Implications of these findings on future policy are discussed and prospective research directions are outlined.     

An Empirical Study of Gender Differences in Online Gambling

Gambling has typically been considered a predominately male activity. However, recent prevalence surveys have shown greater numbers of females are now gambling. Much of the gambling literature suggests online gamblers are more likely to be male, and that problem gamblers are more likely to be male. Males and females are also likely to be gambling for different reasons and have a preference for different gambling activities. Little is known about the pattern of play among female online gamblers. The aim of this survey was to develop a better profile of female online gamblers and to examine any gender differences between males and females in terms of how and why they gamble online, their frequency of online gambling, patterns of play, as well as attitudes to online gambling. The survey was posted on 32 international online gambling websites and was completed by 975 online gamblers (including 175 female online gamblers). Chi-square tests of association were conducted to examine the association between gender and a range of variables. The results showed that females had been gambling online for a shorter duration of time than males, had much shorter online gambling sessions, different motivations for gambling online (i.e., to practice for free, to spend less money and out of boredom), and experienced online gambling differently to males, with increased feelings of guilt and shame for gambling online. This suggests there is still a stigma around gambling particularly evident among females in this study. The findings indicate that clinicians and treatment providers need to be aware of these potential gender differences in online gambling to develop appropriately tailored interventions.     

Beliefs About Gambling Problems and Recovery: Results from a General Population Telephone Survey

Respondents were asked their beliefs about gambling abuse as part of a general population telephone survey. The random digit dialing survey consisted of 8,467 interviews of adults, 18 years and older, from Ontario, Canada (45% male; mean age = 46.2). The predominant conception of gambling abuse was that of an addiction, similar to drug addiction. More than half of respondents reported that treatment was necessary and almost three-quarters of respondents felt that problem gamblers would have to give up gambling completely in order to overcome their gambling problem. Problem gamblers (past or current) were less likely than non- or social gamblers to believe that treatment was needed, and current problem gamblers were least likely to believe that abstinence was required, as compared to all other respondents. Strong agreement with conceptions of gambling abuse as disease or addiction were positively associated with belief that treatment is needed, while strong agreement with conceptions of disease or wrongdoing were positively associated with belief that abstinence is required.