Abstract
This paper reports on the development and psychometric properties of a Gambling Refusal Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (GRSEQ). Two hundred and ninety-seven gamblers from both normal and clinical populations completed an initial set of 31-items of which 26 were selected for inclusion in the final version of the GRSEQ. A series of factor analyses showed four clear factors accounting for 84% of the variance. These factors can be summarised as situations and thoughts associated with gambling, the influence of drugs on gambling, positive emotions associated with gambling and negative emotions associated with gambling. The GRSEQ total score and factors scores showed high internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha ranging from 0.92 to 0.98). Participants experiencing problems with gambling scored significantly lower on the GRSEQ, and discriminant analyses showed that the scale is able to correctly classify the non-problem (i.e., community and student samples) and problem gamblers (i.e., clinical sample). Furthermore, the GRSEQ showed significant negative relationships with other gambling-related variables (gambling urge and gambling-related cognitions) and negative mood states (depression, anxiety and stress) and was shown to be sensitive to change in treatment of pathological gambling. The results suggest that the GRSEQ is a useful measure of gambling refusal self-efficacy that is suitable for assessment of gamblers from both normal and clinical populations.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Allsop, S., Saunders, B., & Phillips, M. (2000). The process of relapse in severely dependent male problem drinkers. Addiction, 95, 95–106.
Annis, H. M., & Davis, C. S. (1988). Self-efficacy and the prevention of alcoholic relapse: Initial findings from a treatment trial. In T. B. Baker & D. Cannon (Eds.), Addictive disorders: Psychological research on assessment and treatment (pp. 88–112). New York: Praeger Publishing Company.
Antony, M. M., Bieling, P. J., Cox, B. J., Enns, M. W., & Swinson, R. P. (1998). Psychometric properties of the 42-item and 21-item versions of the depression anxiety stress scales in clinical groups and a community sample. Psychological Assessment, 10, 176–181.
Arrindell, W. A. (2001). Changes in waiting-list patients over time: Data on some commonly-used measures. Beware! Behaviour Research and Therapy, 39, 1227–1247.
Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York: W. H. Freeman and Co.
Baron, E., & Dickerson, M. (1999). Alcohol consumption and self-control of gambling behaviour. Journal of Gambling Studies, 15(1), 3–15.
Blaszczynski, A., Huynh, S., Dumlao, V. J., & Farrell, E. (1998). Problem gambling within a Chinese speaking community. Journal of Gambling Studies, 14(4), 359–380.
Blaszczynski, A., & McConaghy, N. (1989a). Anxiety and/or depression in the pathogenesis of addictive gambling. International Journal of the Addictions, 24(4), 337–350.
Blaszczynski, A. P., & McConaghy, N. (1989b). The medical model of pathological gambling: Current shortcomings. Journal of Gambling Behavior, 5(1), 42–52.
Breen, R. B., & Zuckerman, M. (1999). ‘Chasing’ in gambling behavior: Personality and cognitive determinants. Personality and Individual Differences, 27, 1097–1111.
Cattell, R. B. (1966). The screen test for the number of factors. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 1, 245–276.
Cicchetti, D. V. (1994). Guidelines, criteria, and rules of thumb for evaluating normed and standardized assessment instruments in psychology. Psychological Assessment, 6, 284–290.
Cicchetti, D. V., & Sparrow, S. S. (1990). Assessment of adaptive behaviour in young children. In J. J. Johnson & J. Goldman (Eds.), Developmental assessment in clinical child psychology: A handbook (pp. 173–196). New York: Permagon Press.
Condiotte, M. M., & Lichtenstein, E. (1981). Self-efficacy and relapse in smoking cessation programs. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 49, 648–658.
Corless, T., & Dickerson, M. (1989). Gamblers’ self-perceptions of the determinants of impaired control. British Journal of Addiction, 84(12), 1527–1537.
Crisp, B. R., Thomas, S. A., Jackson, A. C., Smith, S., Borrell, J., Ho, W., et al. (2004). Not the same: A comparison of female and male clients seeking treatment from problem gambling counselling services. Journal of Gambling Studies, 30(3), 283–299.
DeVellis, R. F. (1991). Scale development. Newbury: Sage.
Dickerson, M. G. (1993). Internal and external determinants of persistent gambling: Problems in generalising from one form of gambling to another. Journal of Gambling Studies, 9(3), 225–245.
Dickerson, M., Cunningham, R., England, S. L., & Hinchy, J. (1991). On the determinants of persistent gambling: III. Personality, prior mood, and poker machine play. International Journal of the Addictions, 26(5), 531–548.
DiClemente, C. C., Fairhurst, S. K., & Piotrowski, N. A. (1995). Self-efficacy and addictive behaviour. In J. E. Maddux (Ed.), Self-efficacy, adaptation, and adjustment; Theory, research, and application (pp. 109–138). New York: Plenum Press.
Field, A. (2000). Discovering statistics using SPSS for windows. London: Sage.
Friedland, N., Keinan, G., & Regev, Y. (1992). Controlling the uncontrollable: Effects of stress on illusory perceptions of controllability. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 63(6), 923–931.
Hasking, P. A., & Oei, T. P. (2007). Alcohol expectancies, self-efficacy and coping in an alcohol-dependent sample. Addictive Behaviors, 32(1), 99–113.
Hodgins, D., Peden, N., & Makarchuk, K. (2004). Self-efficacy in pathological gambling treatment outcome: Development of a Gambling Abstinence Self-efficacy Scale (GASS). International Gambling Studies, 4(2), 99–108.
Joreskog, J., & Sorbom, D. (2004). Lisrel 8.7. Lincolnwood: Scientific Software International.
Kyngdon, A., & Dickerson, M. (1999). An experimental study of the effect of prior alcohol consumption on a simulated gambling activity. Addiction, 94(5), 697–707.
Ladouceur, R., Sylvain, C., Boutin, C., Lachance, S., Doucet, C., & Leblond, J. (2003). Group therapy for pathological gamblers: A cognitive approach. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 41(5), 587–596.
Ladouceur, R., Sylvain, C., Boutin, C., Lachance, S., Doucet, C., Leblond, J., et al. (2001). Cognitive treatment of pathological gambling. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 189(11), 774–780.
Ledgerwood, D. M., & Downey, K. K. (2002). Relationship between problem gambling and substance use in a methadone maintenance population. Addictive Behaviors, 27, 483–491.
Lesieur, H. R., & Blume, S. B. (1987). The South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS): A new instrument for the identification of pathological gamblers. American Journal of Psychiatry, 144(9), 1184–1188.
Lovibond, S. H., & Lovibond, P. F. (1995). The structure of negative emotional states: Comparison of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS) with the beck depression and anxiety inventories. Behaviour, Research & Therapy, 33, 335–343.
Marlatt, G. A. (1985). Situational determinants of relapse and skill training interventions. In G. A. Marlatt & J. R. Gordon (Eds.), Relapse prevention: Maintenance strategies in treatment of addictive behaviours (pp. 71–127). New York: The Guilford Press.
May, R. K., Whelan, J. P., Steenbergh, T. A., & Meyers, A. W. (2003). The gambling self-efficacy questionnaire: An initial psychometric evaluation. Journal of Gambling Studies, 4, 339–357.
Mitchell, M., & Jolley, J. (2001). Research design explained. London: Harcourt College.
Nicki, R. M., Remington, R. E., & MacDonald, G. (1984). Self-efficacy, nicotine-fading/self-monitoring and cigarette-smoking behaviour. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 22, 477–485.
Oei, T. P., Hasking, P. A., & Young, R. (2005). Drinking Refusal Self-Efficacy Questionnaire-Revised (DRSEQ-R): A new factor structure with confirmatory factor analysis. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 78(3), 297–307.
Raylu, N., & Oei, T. P. S. (2002). Pathological gambling: A comprehensive review. Clinical Psychology Review, 22(7), 1009–1061.
Raylu, N., & Oei, T. P. S. (2004a). The Gambling Related Cognitions Scale (GRCS): Development, confirmatory factor validation and psychometric properties. Addiction, 99(6), 757–769.
Raylu, N., & Oei, T. P. S. (2004b). The gambling urge scale: Development, confirmatory factor validation, and psychometric properties. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 18(2), 100–105.
Rounds-Bryant, J. L., Flynn, P. M., & Craighead, L. W. (1997). Relationship between self-efficacy perceptions and in-treatment drug use among regular cocaine users. American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 23, 383–395.
Sharpe, L. (2002). A reformulated cognitive-behavioral model of problem gambling: A biopsychosocial perspective. Clinical Psychology Review, 22(1), 1–25.
Sherer, M., Maddux, J. E., Mercandante, B., Prentice-Dunn, S., Jacobs, B., & Rogers, R. W. (1982). The self-efficacy scale: Construction and validation. Psychological Reports, 51, 663–671.
Stevens, J. P. (1992). Applied multivariate statistics for the social sciences. (2nd ed.). Hillsdale: Erlbaum.
Sylvain, C., Ladouceur, R., & Boisvert, J. M. (1997). Cognitive and behavioral treatment of pathological gambling: A controlled study. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 65(5), 727–732.
Symes, B. A., & Nicki, R. M. (1997). A preliminary consideration of cue-exposure, response-prevention treatment for pathological gambling behaviour: Two case studies. Journal of Gambling Studies, 13(2), 145–157.
Tabachnik, B. G., & Fidell, L. S. (1996). Using multivariate statistics (3rd ed.). New York: Harper Collins.
Young, R. M., & Oei, T. P. S. (1996). Drinking expectancy profile: Test manual. University of Queensland, Australia: Behaviour Research and Therapy Centre.
Young, R. M., Oei, T. P. S., & Crook, G. M. (1991). Development of a drinking refusal self-efficacy questionnaire. Journal of Psychopathology and Behaviour Assessment, 13, 1–15.
Zywiak, W. H., Connors, G. J., Maisto, S. A., & Westerberg, V. S. (1996). Section IIA. Replication and extention of Marlatt’s taxonomy: Relapse research and the reasons for drinking questionnaire: A factors analysis of Marlatt’s relapse taxonomy. Addiction, 91, S121–S130.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Casey, L.M., Oei, T.P.S., Melville, K.M. et al. Measuring Self-efficacy in Gambling: The Gambling Refusal Self-Efficacy Questionnaire. J Gambl Stud 24, 229–246 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-007-9076-2
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-007-9076-2