Decision making, cognitive distortions and emotional distress: a comparison between pathological gamblers and healthy controls

Background and aimsAbnormal cognitions are among the most salient domain-specific features of gambling disorder. The aims of this study were: (a) to examine and validate a Spanish version of the Gambling-Related Cognitions Scale (GRCS; Raylu & Oei, 2004) and (b) to examine associations between cognitive distortion levels, impulsivity, and gambling behavior.MethodsThis study first recruited a convenience sample of 500 adults who had gambled during the previous year. Participants were assessed using the Spanish version of GRCS (GRCS-S) questionnaire, the UPPS-P impulsivity questionnaire, measures of gambling behavior, and potentially relevant confounders. Robust confirmatory factor analysis methods on half the sample were used to select the best models from a hypothesis-driven set. The best solutions were validated on the other half, and the resulting factors were later correlated with impulsivity dimensions (in the whole n = 500 factor analysis sample) and clinically relevant gambling indices (in a separat...

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The role of affect-driven impulsivity in gambling cognitions: A convenience-sample study with a Spanish version of the Gambling-Related Cognitions Scale

Sherpa Romeo blue journal. Open access article. Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) applies.

Gambling fallacies: what are they and how are they best measured?

Evidences from the extant literature suggest that problem gamblers show higher cognitive distortions and reported experiencing higher levels of negative affective states than recreational gamblers. Furthermore, several studies reported that the more the gambling severity, the poorer the performance in behavioral tasks assessing affective decision-making. Although gambling research on decision-making has mostly focused on the functional or dysfunctional outcomes of the decisional process, no study examined the role of decision-making styles in gambling disorder. This study aimed to first investigate the interplay among negative affectivity, cognitive distortions, and decision-making styles in adolescent problem gambling. Four hundred and twenty-five adolescents, aged between 14 and 19 years, completed the South Oaks Gambling Screen Revised for Adolescents to assess problem gambling, the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scales-21 to measure negative affective states, and the Gambling Related Cognitions Scale as a measure of cognitive distortions about gambling, and the General Decision-Making Style tapping habitual patterns which individuals use in decision-making. Data were submitted to correlational analysis, univariate and mixed-model ANOVAs, and hierarchical regression analysis. Regression analysis indicated that, along with gender, interpretative bias and inability to stop gambling, depression, and spontaneous decision-making style significantly predicted gambling severity. These results extend further previous studies on the role of misconceptions about gambling, and negative affective states in adolescent gambling, and, interestingly, first demonstrate that also maladaptive decision-making styles may represent a risk factor for gambling disorder.

Decision-Making Styles, Negative Affectivity, and Cognitive Distortions in Adolescent Gambling.

Psychometric properties of the Gambling Related Cognitions Scale (GRCS) in young Italian gamblers.

The past decade has witnessed an expanded accessibility and popularity of gambling worldwide, and in Italy the phenomenon significantly increased. Nevertheless, little is known about the role of gambling cognitions among Italian individuals, and few scales assessing problem gambling have been validated. The purpose of the present study was to examine and validate the Gambling Related Cognitions Scale-Italian version (GRCS-I), based on the 23-item Gambling Related Cognitions Scale (GRCS). Two-tailed t tests, ANOVA, MANOVA, Pearson's correlation, and multiple regression analyses were used for continuous variables, while χ(2) tests with Yates's correction for categorical variables. Cronbach's α was utilized to determine the internal consistency, and logistic regression analysis and the receiver operating characteristic curve analysis to determine discriminant validity. Principal axis factoring with Oblimin rotation was applied, and then confirmatory factor analysis was used to cross-validate the factor structures. We extracted a five-factor solution that accounted for 60 % of variance. All 23 items had communalities and factor loadings were satisfactory, and the factor structures were similar to the original version of the measure. The Cronbach's α coefficients were adequate, and concurrent and discriminant validities of the GRCS were also confirmed. GRCS-I presented good psychometric properties and it demonstrated good validity and reliability, providing a valid and suitable tool for the assessment of gambling related cognitions among Italian individuals.

Factor Structure and Psychometric Properties of the Italian Version of the Gambling Related Cognitions Scale (GRCS-I)

Background and Objectives:
Individual differences in vulnerability to suici-
dal ideation have been recently addressed to internal working models of attachment. Howev-
er, to date, research has mainly focused on adolescents. Few studies have investigated the role
of adult attachment and personality dimensions in suicidal ideation, either examined from a
mediational perspective
.
In this study, we aimed at testing a theoretical model in which
Self/other perception mediates between personality and suicidal ideation in young adults.
Methods:
Dimensions of Attachment (self/other perception), Personality (the Big Five
factor model), and Suicidal Ideation (hopelessness and depression) were assessed in a
community sample of 319 young adults from Northern Italy. Structural Equation Model-
ing and mediation analysis were conducted. Controlling for demographic variables (i.e.,
gender, age, education, and job), we tested three structural models.
Results
: The final model confirmed our hypothesis that self/other perception mediates
between personality (high neuroticism and low extraversion) and suicidal ideation, pro-
viding excellent fit to data.
Conclusions:
In line with the conceptual framework of the Attachment Theory, find-
ings suggest that failure to resolve attachment-related distress is related to the emergence
of negative self/other models in adults. Such internal models are likely to attenuate the as-
sociation between neuroticism and extraversion with depressive symptoms, hopelessness
and suicidal ideation.

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Francesca Petrucci

Papers

Factor Structure and Psychometric Properties of the Italian Version of the Gambling Related Cognitions Scale (GRCS-I)

Self/other Perception Mediates Between Personality and Suicidal Ideation in Young Adults

Gambling-Related Cognitions Scale—Italian Version