Alexithymia and Emotion Regulation Strategies in Adolescent Gamblers with and Without At-Risk Profiles

Abstract

Alexithymia, difficulties in emotion regulation, and negative affect play an important role in adolescents who present pathological gambling. Therefore, the objectives of the present study were, firstly, to analyze the differences between alexithymia, difficulties in emotion regulation, and positive and negative affect in adolescents with and without risk of gambling problems. Secondly, the relationships between all the variables of the study in adolescents with and without risk of problem gambling were analyzed separately. Thirdly, we analyzed the mediating role of positive and negative affect in the relationship between alexithymia and dysfunctional emotion regulation strategies (ERS) in adolescents at risk of gambling problems. The sample was composed of 206 adolescents with ages ranging from 12 to 18 years (M = 15.52; SD = 1.43). They were divided into two groups according to the score obtained in the South Oaks Gambling Screen-Revised for Adolescents (SOGS-RA). Thus, 84 were included in the group without risk of gambling problems and 122 in the group at risk of gambling problems. The results obtained revealed higher scores in negative affect and pathological gambling in the group at risk of gambling problems. Likewise, positive relationships between alexithymia, maladaptive emotion regulation strategies (MERS), and affect were found. Mediation analyses showed that difficulties in identifying feelings were indirectly related to greater use of dysfunctional ERS through their relationship with negative affect in at-risk gamblers.

Association of addiction tendency with distress tolerance, self-differentiation, and emotion regulation difficulties mediated by resilience in university students

“…The variable of emotion regulation difficulties had a direct association with addictive tendencies, which is consistent with the results of previous studies (19,20). The general theory of addiction indicates that emotional dysregulation caused by cognitive-emotional dysregulation leads to problems such as the lack of emotional awareness and understanding, lack of correct acceptance of feelings, inability to manage affections, and discomfort and isolation (21).…”

“…Emotional dysregulation is a set of conscious and unconscious strategies manifested as the inability to control and moderate emotional expression and causes incorrect re-appraisal of cognitive changes before the occurrence of emotion (17,18). Emotional dysregulation predisposes people to addictive behaviors (19). Previous studies demonstrated the effect of emotion regulation on addictive tendencies (20,21).…”

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

“…The results support the hypothesized model and confirm the influence of alexithymia in problematic online gambling, both directly and indirectly, taking into account the partial mediation of dissociation and the moderation of cohesive family functioning. In other words, deficits in emotional processing and regulation may prevent gamblers from managing and containing internal distress, resulting in attempts at external regulation [18,69]. In mediating this relationship, dissociation can be seen as an extreme way to cope with dysregulated negative effects, further impeding their processing and awareness, thus fuelling external dysfunctional strategies, such as pathological online gambling [15,19,21].…”

The Relationship Between Emotional Dysregulation, Alexithymia and Somatization in Patients with Bipolar Disorder

“… 34 Previous studies have found that alexithymia may favor the use of dysfunctional emotion regulation as a way of increasing emotional arousal and avoiding negative emotions. 35 It was emphasized that approaches that deal with alexithymia and emotional dysregulation together can provide more positive results. 34 Similarly, in our study, we found that there was a significant correlation between ED and TAS scale scores.…”