A Comprehensive Model for Gambling Behaviors: Assessment of the Factors that can Contribute to the Vulnerability and Maintenance of Gambling Disorder

Abstract

Gambling Disorder is a complex and multifaceted phenomenon which requires a careful understanding by analysing both the life experiences and the psychopathological components linked to this type of behaviour. This study aimed to apply a Comprehensive Model of Addiction and to delve deeper the dimensions involved in the vulnerability and maintenance of the disease. Therefore, the effect of alexithymia and traumatic experiences in mediating the relationship between insecure attachment and dissociation, as well as the roles of impulsiveness and compulsiveness in influencing obsessiveness were explored in pathological gamblers. A sample composed of 253 individuals with a mean age of 47.8 years (SD = 12.4) with a diagnosis of Gambling Disorder (82.6% males, 17.4% females) completed the battery of measures. Results showed that alexithymia significantly mediates the relationship between insecure attachment and dissociation, while no significance was found in the effect of complex trauma. Furthermore, a significant impact role of impulsiveness and compulsiveness in determining obsessiveness was found. Therefore, the data suggested that alexithymia may increase the risk of developing a gambling disorder, mediating the association between insecure attachment and dissociation. The model of craving which could have a core role in disease maintenance processes was also confirmed, highlighting a significant influence of impulsiveness and compulsiveness on obsessiveness. Such findings might have relevant implications to increase the effectiveness of both preventive interventions and therapeutic works, favouring positive results for a better mental health of the subjects.

A Screening Tool for Exercise Addiction: The Psychometric Properties of the Italian Exercise Addiction Inventory

“…Another relevant finding in the present study was the positive association between exercise addiction and alexithymia, in line with recent research highlighting the central role of affect dysregulation in the etiopathogenesis of behavioral addictions (e.g., Caretti et al, 2018;Gori et al, 2021b;Mahapatra & Sharma, 2018), and, more generally on mental health (Craparo et al, 2018;Pellerone et al, 2017). In relation to discriminant validity, exercise addiction was negatively associated with self-esteem and was non-significantly associated with self-efficacy and insight.…”

“…Furthermore, the cross-cultural evaluations of the EAI have shown evidence of configural and metric invariance across six samples from five different countries (Spain, UK, USA, Denmark, and Hungary) and for males and females, but scalar invariance was not supported (Griffiths et al, 2015). In Italy, some translations of the EAI have been used (e.g., Gori et al, 2021b;Granziol et al, 2021) but many of these did not report its psychometric properties (e.g., Bruno et al, 2014;di Nicola et al, 2010;Venturella et al, 2015).…”

The Relationship between Alexithymia, Dysmorphic Concern, and Exercise Addiction: The Moderating Effect of Self-Esteem

“…This is consistent with other evidence highlighting the role of alexithymia and, more generally, emotional dysregulation in facilitating addictive behaviors, which may become dysfunctional strategies to cope with painful emotions (see Morie et al [18] for a review). Indeed, given their lack of emotional awareness, individuals with high levels of alexithymia tend to have difficulty in managing their affect [14,60,61], and engaging in addictive behavior may become a dysfunctional strategy to cope with painful emotion [62,63]. Consistently, the theory of affect regulation [64] suggests that physical activity may lead to improvements in positive moods and decreases in negative ones (anxiety, irritability, and guilt).…”

“…Although the hypothesized links were based on a solid body of pre-existing literature, the present data only provide preliminary support for the observed relationships. Future longitudinal research is needed in order to test the relationships empirically, as well as considering the possibility of bidirectionality in the association between the variables, and further enriching the model by exploring the roles of other promising factors in the field of addiction and mental health, such as attachment (e.g., [75]), family functioning (e.g., [76]), and dissociation (e.g., [61]), to name but a few. Furthermore, data were collected online, and this could limit the generalizability of the study (for example, with respect to exercisers who did not have internet access).…”

Alexithymia, Dissociation, and Family Functioning in a Sample of Online Gamblers: A Moderated Mediation Study

“…Alexithymia is a form of emotional dysregulation characterized by difficulties in identifying and describing emotions, as well as in understanding their physiological correlates, with attention focused outwardly [12]. It has been frequently indicated as a key transdiagnostic factor in the etiology of several psychological and addictive disorders [9,13], including gambling disorder [14,15], which has been associated with altered emotional processes [16]. In this regard, the theory of self-medication postulated that addictive behaviours may be a way of alleviating negative affective states [17].…”