Post-traumatic stress and gambling related cognitions: Analyses in inpatient and online samples

Abstract

Gambling disorder (GD) is associated with a range of psychiatric comorbidities. One comorbidity of particular interest is post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Individuals with GD report much higher rates of PTSD than the general population, and individuals with this comorbidity (with both PTSD and GD) often report much greater distress and impairment in daily life in comparison to individuals with GD alone. Despite these associations, little is known about the specific ways in which PTSD and GD might influence each other. To address this gap in research, the present work sought to examine how PTSD might be related to the expression and experience of gambling related cognitions. Specifically, it was hypothesized that individuals with PTSD or symptoms of PTSD (i.e., subclinical levels of posttraumatic stress) would demonstrate greater cognitive distortions and erroneous beliefs about gambling. To test these hypotheses, we analyzed data from two samples, an inpatient sample of U.S. Armed Forces veterans seeking treatment for gambling disorder (n=332) and an online sample of largely recreational gambling U.S. adults (n=589). Results consistently revealed that individuals with PTSD or symptoms of PTSD were likely to report greater gambling related cognitions. These findings persisted, even when gambling symptom severity and trait neuroticism were held constant. Collectively, these results suggest that PTSD is uniquely associated with greater cognitive distortions and erroneous beliefs about gambling behaviors.

Predicting Gambling Situations: The Roles of Impulsivity, Substance Use, and Post-Traumatic Stress

“…10 Moreover, other work has shown that among both recreational and disordered gamblers, PTSS/PTSD are associated with more cognitive distortions around gambling and problematic beliefs about gambling, particularly the belief that gambling will enhance mood or positive affect. 14 Collectively, these findings indicate that PTSS/PTSD are associated with unique motivations for and beliefs about gambling behaviors, which also suggests that individuals experiencing PTSS/PTSD might be particularly vulnerable to specific gambling related triggers or situations.…”

“…To address the above research directions, we analyzed data from two samples that have been described in previously published works. 10,14 All research was approved by the Institutional Review Boards at the respective institutions at which they were conducted (Sample 1 = Bowling Green State University; Sample 2 = Cleveland Veteran's Affairs Medical Center and Bowling Green State University).…”

Predicting Gambling Situations: The Roles of Impulsivity, Substance Use, and Post Traumatic Stress

“…Materials and Methods To address the above research directions, we analyzed data from two samples that have been described in previously published works. 10,14 All research was approved by the Institutional Review Boards at the respective institutions at which they were conducted (Sample 1 = Bowling Green State University; Sample 2 = Cleveland Veteran's Affairs Medical Center and Bowling Green State University).…”

“…Full details about this screening process have been published elsewhere. 10,14 Due to the above screening process, the final sample size was 589 adults (inclusion rate = 86%; 43% men, Mage = 36.1, SD = 11.0). Participants were primarily White/Caucasian (76%), African-American/Black (11%), Native American/American Indian (2%), Asian/Pacific Islander (9%), Hispanic/Latino (8%), and other/prefer-not-to-say (2%).…”

Screening for Gambling Disorder in VA Primary Care Behavioral Health: A Pilot Study

“…Estimated rates suggest that the lifetime prevalence of GD in U.S. military veterans is 2%, while lifetime estimates of problem gambling have been reported to be as high as 11% (Steenbergh et al, 2008;Westermeyer et al, 2013;Whiting et al, 2016). Among treatment-seeking Veterans Affairs (VA) patients diagnosed with GD, research has also revealed frequent co-occurrences of substance use disorders and PTSD (Grubbs et al, 2018;Grubbs et al, 2019;Ronzitti et al, 2019;Shirk et al, 2018). Unfortunately, gambling research conducted on U.S. veterans is scarce, despite growing evidence that this group may be particularly vulnerable to developing gambling problems (Etuk et al, 2020).…”