Gambling to escape: A systematic review of the relationship between avoidant emotion regulation/coping strategies and gambling severity

Neophytou, Klavdia; Theodorou, Marios; Artemi, Tonia-Flery; Theodorou, Christiana; Panayiotou, Georgia

doi:10.1016/j.jcbs.2023.01.004

Cited by 28 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 78 publications

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“…Given the tolerance item reflects needing to gamble more to experience the same feelings, the more stress an individual experiences (including gambling stress), the more they may gamble to alleviate that stress -which increases their risk of problem gambling. Reappraisal (which could be considered an intended outcome of an expectancy challenge attempt) has been considered more broadly in relation to problem gambling; however, mixed effects have been observed throughout the literature (Neophytou et al, 2023). Challenging gambling-related escape expectancies experimentally may therefore present a more promising route for enhancing the efficacy of reappraisal-based interventions.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

What Role Do Maladaptive Coping and Escape Expectancies Play in the Relationship Between Stress and Problem Gambling? Testing a Moderated Mediation Model

Caudwell,

Bacovic,

Flack

2024

Int J Ment Health Addiction

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Stress has long been implicated in relation to problem gambling and gambling disorder. However, less is known about the psychological processes that link stress to problem gambling through other known correlates, including outcome expectancies and maladaptive coping. The current study tests a moderated mediation model whereby the effect of stress on problem gambling was hypothesized to be mediated by escape outcome expectancies, with this mediation effect moderated by maladaptive coping. Participants (N = 240; 50.2% male, Mage = 32.76 years; SDage = 11.35 years) were recruited from an online crowdsourcing platform and provided responses on the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21; Lovibond & Lovibond, 1995), the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI; Ferris & Wynne, 2001), escape subscale of the Gambling Outcome Expectancies Scale (GOES; Flack & Morris, 2015) and the Brief COPE (Carver, 1997). The model was tested using Hayes’ (2018) PROCESS macro, revealing a significant moderated mediation effect of the stress-escape path by maladaptive coping, showing that the effect was significant when maladaptive coping was high. The findings provide support for escape outcome expectancies as being a potential mechanism through which the stress-problem gambling relationship may operate specifically, influenced by how gamblers are engaged in maladaptive coping generally. There is a need to further investigate the potential for combining gambling outcome expectancy challenges with methods to reduce maladaptive coping or develop more adaptive responses in the face of stress among problem gamblers.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

What Role Do Maladaptive Coping and Escape Expectancies Play in the Relationship Between Stress and Problem Gambling? Testing a Moderated Mediation Model

Caudwell,

Bacovic,

Flack

2024

Int J Ment Health Addiction

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“…Previous studies showed that maladaptive emotion regulation strategies such as avoidance, rumination, and self-blame are frequently involved in the development and maintenance of various psychiatric disorders, including but not limited to mood 4 and anxiety disorders, 5 obsessive-compulsive disorder, 6 alcohol and substance use disorders, 7 , 8 gambling disorder, 9 , 10 eating disorders, 11 and body-focused repetitive disorders 12 (trichotillomania and skin-picking disorder); as well as in other clinically relevant syndrome such as in problematic exercise, 13 problematic smartphone use 14 and compulsive sexual behavior 15 . Individuals with mental health disorders often struggle to effectively recognize, regulate, and respond to emotions in a manner that aligns with the demands of their social and environmental contexts 1…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Individuals with mental health disorders often struggle to effectively recognize, regulate, and respond to emotions in a manner that aligns with the demands of their social and environmental contexts 1 3 Furthermore, models of gambling disorder, 9 , 10 eating disorders, 16 , 17 and alcohol use disorder 18 , 19 suggest that individuals who cannot effectively regulate their emotions might frequently turn to gambling, food, or alcohol as emotional escape leading to negative reinforcement of unhelpful behavioral patterns.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Emotion regulation across psychiatric disorders

Aslan,

Dorey,

Grant

et al. 2024

CNS Spectr.

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Objective Difficulties with emotion regulation have been associated with multiple psychiatric conditions. In this study, we aimed to investigate emotional regulation difficulties in young adults who gamble at least occasionally (ie, an enriched sample), and diagnosed with a range of psychiatric disorders using the validated Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS). Methods A total of 543 non-treatment-seeking individuals who had engaged in gambling activities on at least 5 occasions within the previous year, aged 18–29 were recruited from general community settings. Diagnostic assessments included the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Inventory, Minnesota Impulsive Disorders Interview, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder World Health Organization Screening Tool Part A, and the Structured Clinical Interview for Gambling Disorder. Emotional dysregulation was evaluated using DERS. The profile of emotional dysregulation across disorders was characterized using Z-scores (those with the index disorder vs. those without the index disorder). Results Individuals with probable ADHD displayed the highest level of difficulties in emotional regulation, followed by intermittent explosive disorder, social phobia, and generalized anxiety disorder. In contrast, participants diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder showed relatively lower levels of difficulties with emotional regulation. Conclusions This study highlights the importance of recognizing emotional dysregulation as a trans-diagnostic phenomenon across psychiatric disorders. The results also reveal differing levels of emotional dysregulation across diagnoses, with potential implications for tailored treatment approaches. Despite limitations such as small sample sizes for certain disorders and limited age range, this study contributes to a broader understanding of emotional regulation’s role in psychiatric conditions.

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Spanish Validation of the Brief Pornography Screen Within a Clinical Sample of Individuals with Gambling Disorder

Tarragón,

Testa,

Granero

et al. 2024

Arch Sex Behav

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Gambling to escape: A systematic review of the relationship between avoidant emotion regulation/coping strategies and gambling severity

Cited by 28 publications

References 78 publications

What Role Do Maladaptive Coping and Escape Expectancies Play in the Relationship Between Stress and Problem Gambling? Testing a Moderated Mediation Model

What Role Do Maladaptive Coping and Escape Expectancies Play in the Relationship Between Stress and Problem Gambling? Testing a Moderated Mediation Model

Emotion regulation across psychiatric disorders

Spanish Validation of the Brief Pornography Screen Within a Clinical Sample of Individuals with Gambling Disorder

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