Abstract
Impulsivity is one of the individual level dispositional characteristics that have shown a robust association with problem gambling. However, the way in which impulsivity shapes gambling behaviour is less well understood. The current study examined the explanatory role of gambling outcome expectancies of escape and excitement to further explore the relationship between impulsivity and problem gambling. A total of 491 community members completed an online questionnaire that assessed impulsivity, the anticipated emotional benefits of gambling (escape and excitement outcome expectancies), gambling frequency and problem gambling. Although escape and excitement outcome expectancies partially accounted for the relationship between impulsivity and problem gambling scores, escape moderated the relationship. Specifically, impulsivity was not related to problem gambling when less favourable views of escape outcome expectancies were held. Conversely, the relationship between impulsivity and problem gambling strengthened when escape outcome expectancies were more favourable. The findings indicate the escape outcome expectancies play a significant role in determining the degree to which impulsivity influences problematic gambling. The results suggest engendering more unfavourable beliefs towards using gambling as a form of escapism or a way to cope with negative affect may be helpful, especially for gamblers with heightened levels of impulsivity.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adams, Z. W., Kaiser, A. J., Lynam, D. R., Charnigo, R. J., & Milich, R. (2012). Drinking motives as mediators of the impulsivity-substance use relation: pathways for negative urgency, lack of premeditation, and sensation seeking. Addictive Behaviors, 37(7), 848–855. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2012.03.016.
Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50(2), 179–211. https://doi.org/10.1016/0749-5978(91)90020-t.
Balodis, S. R. S., Thomas, A. C., & Moore, S. M. (2014). Sensitivity to reward and punishment: horse race and EGM gamblers compared. Personality and Individual Differences, 56, 29–33. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2013.08.015.
Barrault, S., & Bonnaire, C. (2015). Problem gambling and sub-dimensions of impulsivity among regular online poker players. Journal of Addiction Research & Therapy, 6(4), 1–6. https://doi.org/10.4172/2155-6105.1000254.
Berg, J. M., Latzman, R. D., Bliwise, N. G., & Lilienfeld, S. O. (2015). Parsing the heterogeneity of impulsivity: a meta-analytic review of the behavioral implications of the UPPS for psychopathology. Psychological Assessment, 27(4), 1129–1146. https://doi.org/10.1037/pas0000111.
Birkley, E. L., & Smith, G. T. (2011). Recent advances in understanding the personality underpinnings of impulsive behavior and their role in risk for addictive behaviors. Current Drug Abuse Reviews, 4(4), 215–227.
Blain, B., Gill, P. R., & Teese, R. (2015). Predicting problem gambling in Australian adults using a multifaceted model of impulsivity. International Gambling Studies, 15(2), 239–255. https://doi.org/10.1080/14459795.2015.1029960.
Bolles, J. R., Earleywine, M., & Gordis, E. (2014). Acquired preparedness model and impulsivity moderated expectancies: examining predictors of marijuana use. Addiction Research & Theory, 22(6), 490–497. https://doi.org/10.3109/16066359.2014.892929.
Canale, N., Vieno, A., Griffiths, M. D., Rubaltelli, E., & Santinello, M. (2015). How do impulsivity traits influence problem gambling through gambling motives? The role of perceived gambling risk/benefits. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 29, 813–823. https://doi.org/10.1037/adb0000060.
Corbin, W. R., Papova, A., Morean, M. E., O'Malley, S. S., Krishnan-Sarin, S., Abi-Dargham, A., Anticevic, A., Pearlson, G., Petrakis, I., Pittman, B. P., & Krystal, J. H. (2015). Integrating acquired preparedness and dual process models of risk for heavy drinking and related problems. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 29(4), 864–874. https://doi.org/10.1037/adb0000093.
Coskunpinar, A., & Cyders, M. A. (2012). Mediation–moderation analysis of problematic alcohol use: the roles of urgency, drinking motives, and risk/benefit perception. Addictive Behaviors, 37(7), 880–883. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2012.03.014.
Cyders, M. A., & Smith, G. T. (2008). Clarifying the role of personality dispositions in risk for increased gambling behavior. Personality and Individual Differences, 45(6), 503–508.
Cyders, M. A., Smith, G. T., Spillane, N. S., Fischer, S., Annus, A. M., & Peterson, C. (2007). Integration of impulsivity and positive mood to predict risky behavior: development and validation of a measure of positive urgency. Psychological Assessment, 19(1), 107–118. https://doi.org/10.1037/1040-3590.19.1.107.
Doran, N., Khoddam, R., Sanders, P. E., Schweizer, C. A., Trim, R. S., & Myers, M. G. (2013). A prospective study of the acquired preparedness model: the effects of impulsivity and expectancies on smoking initiation in college students. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 27(3), 714–722. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0028988.
Ferris, J., & Wynne, H. (2001). The Canadian problem gambling index: final report. Ottawa: Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse.
Flack, M., & Morris, M. (2015). Problem gambling: one for the money…? Journal of Gambling Studies, 31(4), 1561–1578. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-014-9484-z.
Flack, M., & Morris, M. (2016). The temporal stability and predictive ability of the gambling outcome expectancies scale (GOES): a prospective study. Journal of Gambling Studies, 32(2), 923–933. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-015-9581-7.
Flack, M., & Morris, M. (2017a). Gambling-related beliefs and gambling behaviour: explaining gambling problems with the theory of planned behaviour. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 15(1), 130–142. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-015-9611-9.
Flack, M., & Morris, M. (2017b). The temporal relationship between gambling related beliefs and gambling behaviour: a prospective study using the theory of planned behaviour. International Gambling Studies, 17(3), 508–519. https://doi.org/10.1080/14459795.2017.1360929.
Flórez, G., Saiz, P. A., Santamaría, E. M., Álvarez, S., Nogueiras, L., & Arrojo, M. (2016). Impulsivity, implicit attitudes and explicit cognitions, and alcohol dependence as predictors of pathological gambling. Psychiatry Research, 245(30), 392–397. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2016.08.039.
Ginley, M. K., Whelan, J. P., Relyea, G. E., Meyers, A. W., & Pearlson, G. D. (2015). Testing the acquired preparedness model: predicting college student gambling frequency and symptomatology. Journal of Gambling Studies, 31(3), 907–919. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-014-9445-6.
Grant, J. E., Odlaug, B. L., & Chamberlain, S. R. (2016). Neural and psychological underpinnings of gambling disorder: a review. Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry, 65, 188–193. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pnpbp.2015.10.007.
Gullo, M. J., Loxton, N. J., & Dawe, S. (2014). Impulsivity: four ways five factors are not basic to addiction. Addictive Behaviors, 39(11), 1547–1556. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2014.01.002.
Haw, J. (2017). Impulsivity predictors of problem gambling and impaired control. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 15(1), 154–165. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-015-9603-9.
Hayes, A. F. (2013). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: a regression-based approach. New York: Guilford Publications.
Hing, N., Lamont, M., Vitartas, P., & Fink, E. (2015). Sports-embedded gambling promotions: a study of exposure, sports betting intention and problem gambling amongst adults. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 13(1), 115–135. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-014-9519-9.
Hing, N., Russell, A., Tolchard, B., & Nower, L. (2016). Risk factors for gambling problems: an analysis by gender. Journal of Gambling Studies, 32(2), 511–534. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-015-9548-8.
Hodgins, D. C., & Holub, A. (2015). Components of impulsivity in gambling disorder. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 13(6), 699–711. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-015-9572-z.
Holtgraves, T. (2009). Evaluating the problem gambling severity index. Journal of Gambling Studies, 25(1), 105–120. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-008-9107-7.
Krank, M., Stewart, S. H., O'Connor, R., Woicik, P. B., Wall, A.-M., & Conrod, P. J. (2011). Structural, concurrent, and predictive validity of the substance use risk profile scale in early adolescence. Addictive Behaviors, 36(1), 37–46. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2010.08.010.
Kräplin, A., Bühringer, G., Oosterlaan, J., van den Brink, W., Goschke, T., & Goudriaan, A. E. (2014). Dimensions and disorder specificity of impulsivity in pathological gambling. Addictive Behaviors, 39(11), 1646–1651. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2014.05.021.
Leppink, E. W., Redden, S. A., & Grant, J. E. (2016). Impulsivity and gambling: a complex clinical association across three measures. The American Journal on Addictions, 25(2), 138–144. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajad.12341.
MacKillop, J., Miller, J. D., Fortune, E., Maples, J., Lance, C. E., Campbell, W. K., & Goodie, A. S. (2014). Multidimensional examination of impulsivity in relation to disordered gambling. Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, 22(2), 176–185. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0035874.
MacLaren, V. V., Fugelsang, J. A., Harrigan, K. A., & Dixon, M. J. (2011). The personality of pathological gamblers: a meta-analysis. Clinical Psychology Review, 31(6), 1057–1067. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2011.02.002.
Martin, R. J., Usdan, S., Nelson, S., Umstattd, M. R., LaPlante, D., Perko, M., & Shaffer, H. (2010). Using the theory of planned behavior to predict gambling behavior. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 24(1), 89–97. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0018452.
Patton, J. H., Stanford, M. S., & Barratt, E. S. (1995). Factor structure of the Barratt impulsiveness scale. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 51(6), 768–774. https://doi.org/10.1002/1097-4679(199511)51:6<768::AID-JCLP2270510607>3.0.CO;2-1.
Quinn, P. D., & Harden, K. P. (2012). Differential changes in impulsivity and sensation seeking and the escalation of substance use from adolescence to early adulthood. Development and Psychopathology, 25(1), 223–239. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579412000284.
Racine, S. E., & Martin, S. J. (2017). Integrating eating disorder-specific risk factors into the acquired preparedness model of dysregulated eating: a moderated mediation analysis. Eating Behaviors, 24, 54–60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eatbeh.2016.12.007.
Sharma, L., Markon, K. E., & Clark, L. A. (2014). Toward a theory of distinct types of “impulsive” behaviors: a meta-analysis of self-report and behavioral measures. Psychological Bulletin, 140(2), 374–408. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0034418.
Sharp, C., Steinberg, L., Yaroslavsky, I., Hofmeyr, A., Dellis, A., Ross, D., & Kincaid, H. (2011). An item response theory analysis of the problem gambling severity index. Assessment, 19(2), 167–175. https://doi.org/10.1177/1073191111418296.
Shead, W. N., & Hodgins, D. (2009). Affect-regulation expectancies among gamblers. Journal of Gambling Studies, 25(3), 357–375. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-009-9131-2.
Shenassa, E. D., Paradis, A. D., Dolan, S. L., Wilhelm, C. S., & Buka, S. L. (2012). Childhood impulsive behavior and problem gambling by adulthood: a 30-year prospective community-based study. Addiction, 107(1), 160–168. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1360-0443.2011.03571.x.
Smith, G. T., & Anderson, K. G. (2001). Adolescent risk for alcohol problems as acquired preparedness: a model and suggestions for intervention. In P. M. Monti, S. M. Colby, & T. A. O'Leary (Eds.), Adolescents, alcohol, and substance abuse: reaching teens through brief interventions (pp. 109–144). New York: Guilford Press.
Stautz, K., & Cooper, A. (2013). Impulsivity-related personality traits and adolescent alcohol use: a meta-analytic review. Clinical Psychology Review, 33(4), 574–592. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2013.03.003.
Sundqvist, K., Jonsson, J., & Wennberg, P. (2016). Gambling motives in a representative Swedish sample of risk gamblers. Journal of Gambling Studies, 32(4), 1231–1241. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-016-9607-9.
Torres, A., Catena, A., Megías, A., Maldonado, A., Cándido, A., Verdejo-García, A., & Perales, J. (2013). Emotional and non-emotional pathways to impulsive behavior and addiction. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 7(43). doi:https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2013.00043.
Whiteside, S. P., Lynam, D. R., Miller, J. D., & Reynolds, S. K. (2005). Validation of the UPPS impulsive behaviour scale: a four-factor model of impulsivity. European Journal of Personality, 19(7), 559–574. https://doi.org/10.1002/per.556.
Wilens, T. E., Martelon, M., Joshi, G., Bateman, C., Fried, R., Petty, C., & Biederman, J. (2011). Does ADHD predict substance-use disorders? A 10-year follow-up study of young adults with ADHD. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 50(6), 543–553. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2011.01.021.
Wu, A., & Tang, C. (2012). Problem gambling of Chinese college students: application of the theory of planned behavior. Journal of Gambling Studies, 28(2), 315–324. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-011-9250-4.
Yan, W.-S., Zhang, R.-R., Lan, Y., Li, Y.-H., & Sui, N. (2016). Comparison of impulsivity in non-problem, at-risk and problem gamblers. Scientific Reports, 6, 39233. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep39233.
Young, M. M., & Wohl, M. J. A. (2009). The Gambling Craving Scale: psychometric validation and behavioral outcomes. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 23(3), 512–522. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0015043.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000 (5).
Conflict of Interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Ethical Approval
Ethics approval was obtained by the Charles Darwin University’s Human Ethics Committee to conduct to research.
Informed Consent
Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Flack, M., Buckby, B. Impulsivity and Problem Gambling: Can the Anticipated Emotional Rewards Explain the Relationship?. Int J Ment Health Addiction 18, 567–581 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-018-9950-4
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-018-9950-4