Shame-prone gamblers and their coping with gambling loss

Abstract

Applying recent research on self-conscious emotions (e.g., Tangney & Dearing, 2002) to the literature of gambling, the proposal that painful self-conscious emotions brought about by chronic awareness of personal inferiority and inadequacy, deemed as a major predisposing factor for problem gambling (Jacobs, 1986), appears to be compatible with the chronic affective trait of shameproneness but incompatible with guilt-proneness. This premise led to the hypothesis that shame-proneness is strongly associated with problem-gambling severity, whereas guilt-proneness is minimally associated with problem gambling. Further, it was hypothesized that shame-prone gamblers frequently use avoidant coping strategies following gambling loss and chase losses, whereas this tendency is minimal among guilt-prone gamblers. These hypotheses were supported by the data from a retrospective survey of recent gambling loss occasions (N5284). The findings indicate that shame-proneness is one of the predisposing risk factors for problem gambling, whereas guilt-proneness may mitigate gambling problems.Keywords: shame-proneness; problem gambling; gambling loss; avoidant coping Résumé L'application aux études sur le jeu des résultats de recherches récentes sur les émotions liées à la conscience de soi (p. ex., Tangney et Dearing, 2002) a permis de faire la constatation suivante : la proposition selon laquelle ces émotions, lorsqu'elles sont douloureuses et provoquées par un sentiment chronique d'infériorité et de mésadaptation, seraient un important facteur prédisposant au jeu compulsif (Jacobs, 1986) semble se vérifier chez les personnes ayant comme trait affectif chronique une propension à la honte, mais ne pas s'avérer juste chez celles ayant une propension à la culpabilité. Cette prémisse a mené à la formulation de l'hypothèse selon laquelle la propension à la honte est fortement associée aux problèmes graves de jeu compulsif, alors que la propension à la culpabilité n'est associée au jeu compulsif que de façon minimale. Il a également été postulé que les joueurs ayant une propension à la honte usent fréquemment de stratégies d'évitement après avoir connu des pertes ou tenté de récupérer des sommes perdues, et qu'inversement cette tendance est peu présente chez les joueurs ayant une propension à la culpabilité. Une étude rétrospective de nombreux cas de pertes au jeu (N5284) a été effectuée afin de corroborer ces hypothèses, et les résultats de cette étude indiquent que la propension à la honte est un des facteurs de risque prédisposant au jeu compulsif, tandis que la propension à la culpabilité pourrait avoir pour effet d'atténuer les problèmes de jeu.

Narcissistic Implications in Gambling Disorder: The Mediating Role of Emotion Dysregulation

“…First, description of vulnerable narcissistic individuals encompasses specific characteristics which seem to be shared by addicted gamblers. For instance, shame is often a self-reported emotion in this clinical population and proneness to experience feelings of shame in interpersonal situations has been related to chasing behavior (Yi 2012). Shame experienced by individuals with high vulnerable narcissistic traits is related to their own ambitions or needs.…”

Predictors and patterns of gambling behaviour across the COVID-19 lockdown: Findings from a UK cohort study

“…high alcohol consumption, smoking) have been linked to gambling generally and at harmful levels (Mcgrath and Barrett, 2009). Consumption of substances such as alcohol and tobacco may reinforce cravings and reward of other addictive behaviours (Mcgrath and Barrett, 2009), as well as a way of coping with gambling losses (Yi, 2012). Smoking has also been associated with habitual forms of gambling (i.e.…”

Depressive Symptoms and Gambling Behavior: Mediating Role of Coping Motivation and Gambling Refusal Self-Efficacy

“…Another study conducted by Gupta and Derevensky (1998) showed that adolescent and high school gamblers who were classified as problem or pathological gamblers reported more emotion focused coping strategies, such as dissociation and gambling to escape compared to non-problem gamblers. Other studies have focused on the development of depressive symptoms as a consequence of gambling behavior, which in turn can also lead to higher motivation to gamble to relieve negative mood (Yi 2012;Yi and Kanetkar 2011). For instance, Yi and Kanetkar (2011) asked participants to recall past gambling loss and the feelings associated with those experiences.…”