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Brain Emotion Systems, Personality, Hopelessness, Self/Other Perception, and Gambling Cognition: A Structural Equation Model

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Abstract

The aim of this study was to explore the relations between gambling, brain emotion systems, personality, self/other perception, and hopelessness in an Italian community. Dimensions of gambling, positive and negative emotions, self/other perception, personality and hopelessness were assessed in a community sample of 235 adults aged 19–59 years. Two structural models were tested. We found a significant correlation between problem gambling and impulsivity, which in association with aggressivity and negative personality dimensions may help explain the psychopathology factor, i.e. a latent variable involving neurotic personality, hopelessness, high sensation seeking, low metacognitive responsiveness, and disorganized patterns of interpersonal relationships. These results contribute to develop a theoretical framework of gambling in relation with personality factors and provide a new approach for clinical intervention of problem gambling that relies on a solid multidimensional perspective.

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Acknowledgments

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. S&P Statistics and Psychometrics Ltd, Via Tuscolana, 458, 00181, Rome, Italy

    Paolo Iliceto

  2. ARPCI, School of Cognitive-Interpersonal, Attachment Theory-Based Psychotherapy, Circonvallazione Appia, 50, 00179, Rome, Italy

    Laura D’Antuono

  3. Division of Brain Science, Department of Medicine, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London, SW7 2AZ, UK

    Henrietta Bowden-Jones

  4. National Problem Gambling Clinic, Soho Centre for Health and Care, 1 Frith Street, London, W1D 3HZ, UK

    Henrietta Bowden-Jones

  5. Central North West London NHS Foundation Trust, 20 Eastbourne Terrace, London, W2 6LE, UK

    Henrietta Bowden-Jones

  6. Private Practice, Via dei Melograni, 13, Spello, Italy

    Eleni Giovani

  7. Department of Pediatrics and Child Neuropsychiatry, Sapienza University of Rome, Via dei Sabelli, 108, 00185, Rome, Italy

    Teodosio Giacolini & Ugo Sabatello

  8. Private Practice, Via Fucino, 4b, 00199, Rome, Italy

    Gabriella Candilera

  9. Department of Integrative Physiology and Neuroscience, College of Veterinary Medicine, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, 99163, USA

    Jaak Panksepp

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  1. Paolo Iliceto
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  2. Laura D’Antuono
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  3. Henrietta Bowden-Jones
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  4. Eleni Giovani
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  6. Gabriella Candilera
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  7. Ugo Sabatello
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Correspondence to Paolo Iliceto.

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Iliceto, P., D’Antuono, L., Bowden-Jones, H. et al. Brain Emotion Systems, Personality, Hopelessness, Self/Other Perception, and Gambling Cognition: A Structural Equation Model. J Gambl Stud 32, 157–169 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-015-9543-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-015-9543-0

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