An experimental investigation of the role of delay discounting and craving in gambling chasing behavior

Abstract

Chasing is a central feature of gambling disorder and refers to the attempt by individuals to recover financial losses by continuing to gamble. Although several efforts have been made to individuate the factors involved in the complex phenomenon of chasing, little is known regarding its association with delay discounting and craving, both considered important in the development and maintenance of gambling disorder. In the present study, the interplay between chasing, delay discounting, and craving (while controlling for gambling severity) was investigated. The sample comprised 128 adult gamblers aged between 18 and 67 years and consisted of non-problem gamblers (n=58), problem gamblers (n=18), and pathological gamblers (n=52) based on the South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS) scores. Participants were administered the Monetary Choice Questionnaire (MCQ) and the Gambling Craving Scale (GACS), as well as completing the ChasIT, a computerized task assessing chasing behavior. Participants were randomly assigned to the control and the loss condition of the ChasIT. Results showed that pathological gamblers were more likely to chase and reported more severe chasing persistence. Regression analyses indicated that heightened levels of craving and the inability to tolerate delay in gratification, along with gambling severity, predicted both the decision to chase and chasing persistence. The present study contributes important findings to the gambling literature, highlighting the role of craving and delay discounting in facilitating the inability to stop within-sessions gambling. These findings may provide evidence that chasers and non-chasers represent two different types of gamblers, and that the difference may be useful for targeting more effective therapies.

Chasing the desire: An investigation on the role of craving, time perspective, and alcohol use in adolescent gambling

“…As expected and consistent with previous research on both adults and adolescents (e. g. Cosenza et al, 2019a , Hing et al, 2016 , Nigro et al, 2017 , Raylu et al, 2016 , Welte et al, 2015 ; for reviews, see Delfabbro, Thomas, & Armstrong, 2018), boys reported significantly higher levels of gambling severity, alcohol consumption, and craving. In line with prior findings, chasing behavior did not vary by gender ( Bibby, 2016 , Campbell-Meiklejohn et al, 2008 , Lister et al, 2016 , O'Connor and Dickerson, 2003 , Worhunsky et al, 2017 ) or as a function of the experimental condition ( Ciccarelli et al, 2019a , Ciccarelli et al, 2019b , Lister et al, 2016 , Nigro et al, 2018a ). Rather, the results of logistic regression analysis suggested that the choice to stop or continue playing depend on both a strong, urgent desire to gamble and the anticipation of immediate positive subjective experiences from gambling, whereas chasing proneness was predicted not only by anticipation and desire to gamble, but also by alcohol consumption.…”

“…”) and that self-rating of chasing might differ from chasing assessed by means of a behavioral task. However, the results of the present study dovetail with previous finding showing that the decision to persist in gambling may apart from gambling outcomes and may represent a personality trait-like characteristic contributing to gambling severity ( Ciccarelli et al, 2019a , Ciccarelli et al, 2019b , Nigro et al, 2018a , Nigro et al, 2018b ). This finding strongly supports the idea that nonchasers and chaser belong to quite different subtypes of gamblers as first postulated by Blaszczynski and Nower’s (2002) pathway models and is in accordance with Linnet et al (2006) , who hypothesized that chasing proneness “in addition to the addiction, may constitute a distinct entity or level of severity within pathological gambling” (p. 43).…”

“…Considering that the DSM-5 ( APA, 2013 ) has added craving as a new criterion and changed the diagnostic structure of alcohol use disorder (AUD) and that alcohol and gambling problems show high co-occurrence among both adults and adolescents (e.g., Barnes et al, 2009 , Nigro and Cosenza, 2016 , Tackett et al, 2017 ; for reviews, see Rahman et al, 2014 , Rash et al, 2016 ), the aim of the present study was to first investigate the interplay between chasing behavior, craving, temporal perspective, alcohol use, and gambling severity among Italian adolescents. Consistent with previous studies on adolescents demonstrating a strong association between gambling severity and weak concern for the long-term consequences of engaging in the behavior (for a review, see Cosenza, Ciccarelli & Nigro, 2019b ) and in line with recent findings on adults ( Ciccarelli et al, 2019b ), we expected that, compared to nonchasers, chasers would show higher levels of craving and shortened time horizon. Furthermore, as chasing behavior and craving were found to be associated with alcohol misuse ( Ciccarelli et al, 2020 , Nigro et al, 2019 , O'Connor and Dickerson, 2003 ), we expected that higher levels of alcohol consumption would be associated with higher levels of craving and chasing proneness.…”

“…Previous research found that chasing is associated, among others, with impulsivity ( Breen & Zuckerman, 1999 ), sensation seeking ( Linnet, Røjskjær, Nygaard, & Maher, 2006 ), increased activation in brain regions related to reward expectation ( Campbell-Meiklejohn et al, 2008 ), low sensitivity to punishment ( Kim & Lee, 2011 ), poor decision-making ( Nigro, Ciccarelli, & Cosenza, 2018a ), disinhibition ( Nigro et al, 2018b ), alexithymia ( Bibby, 2016 ), deficit in mentalization ( Nigro et al, 2019 ), and heightened levels of craving ( Ciccarelli, Cosenza, D’Olimpio, Griffiths, & Nigro, 2019b ). Importantly, recent research provided evidences that chasers and nonchasers represent two distinct subgroups of gamblers, over and above gambling severity ( Ciccarelli et al, 2019a , Ciccarelli et al, 2019b , Nigro et al, 2018a , Nigro et al, 2018b , Nigro et al, 2019 ; see also Linnet et al, 2006 ). Moreover, a recent contribution reported a significant association between craving and shortened time horizon ( Ciccarelli et al, 2019a ), showing that chasers differ significantly from nonchasers in terms of temporal perspective, with chasers being more focused on the present rather than to the future consequences of their behavior.…”

“…The few studies exploring the association between chasing and craving found, among others, that the relief associated with gambling predicted persistence in the face of losses in a simulated slot-machine casino game ( Young & Wohl, 2009 ), that the desire to gamble increased after positive gambling outcomes among problem gamblers ( Young, Wohl, Matheson, Baumann, & Anisman, 2008 ), and that heightened levels of craving predicted both the decision to chase and chasing persistence ( Ciccarelli et al, 2019b ).…”