The Relationship between Impulsivity and Problem Gambling in Adolescence

Abstract

Gambling has become one of the most frequently reported addictive behaviors among young people. Understanding risk factors associated with the onset or maintenance of gambling problems in adolescence has implications for its prevention and treatment. The main aim of the present study was to examine the potential relationships between impulsivity and problem gambling in adolescence. Participants were 874 high school students (average age: 15 years old) who were surveyed to provide data on gambling and impulsivity. Self-reported gambling behavior was assessed using the South Oaks Gambling Screen – Revised for Adolescents (SOGS-RA) and impulsivity was measured using the Impulsive Sensation Seeking Questionnaire (ZKPQ), the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11-A), and a delay discounting task. The data were analyzed using both a prospective-longitudinal and a cross-sectional design. In the longitudinal analyses, results showed that the impulsivity subscale of the ZKPQ increased the risk of problem gambling (p = 0.003). In the cross-sectional analyses, all the impulsivity measures were higher in at-risk/problem gamblers than in non-problem gamblers (p = 0.04; 0.03; and 0.01, respectively). These findings further support the relationship between impulsivity and gambling in adolescence. Moreover, our findings suggest a bidirectional relationship between impulsivity and problem gambling in adolescence. These results have consequences for the development of prevention and treatment programs for adolescents with gambling problems.

Eudaimonic Well-Being in Adolescents: The Role of Trait Emotional Intelligence and Personality

“…This instrument evaluates different dimensions of personality following Zuckerman's Five-Alternatives Model: neuroticism-anxiety; impulsiveness-sensation seeking; activity; sociability; and, aggression-hostility. The survey used the Spanish version [42], which has been used in previous studies with Spanish adolescents [43]. In our survey, the ZKPQ-50-CC questionnaire yields a Cronbach's α value of 0.86 for neuroticism-anxiety; 0.90 for impulsiveness-sensation seeking; 0.89 for activity; 0.89 for sociability; and, 0.79 for aggression-hostility, which are similar to those yielded by the original scale.…”

Impulsividad y conciencia del problema predicen la adherencia terapéutica y el abandono del tratamiento en el trastorno por juego de azar

“…Otras evidencias relacionadas convergen en mostrar que: (1) las personas impulsivas son más propensas a desarrollar problemas relacionados con el juego en el futuro (Secades-Villa, Martínez-Loredo, Grande-Gosende, y Fernández-Hermida, 2016;van Holst, van den Brink, Veltman y Goudriaan, 2010;Vitaro, Brendgen, Ladouceur y Tremblay, 2001); (2) los pacientes con TJA con niveles altos de impulsividad tienen una mayor probabilidad de poner fin a su tratamiento de forma prematura (Leblond, Ladouceur y Blaszczynski, 2003;Maccallum, Blaszczynski, Ladouceur y Nower, 2007); (3) existe una asociación entre la impulsividad y una mayor comorbilidad psicopatológica, incluyendo otras adicciones (Grall-Bronnec et al, 2012;Petry, 2010); y (4) existe una correlación entre la impulsividad y la severidad del TJA .…”

SmokingOpp

“…'Impulsivity' is defined in [15] as 'a predisposition toward rapid, unplanned reactions to internal or external stimuli with diminished regard to the negative consequences of these reactions to the impulsive individual or to others. Examples of impulsive behaviors include fights (e.g., verbal arguments and road rage), impulsive buying [36,53], suicide attempts [43], overeating [71], binge-drinking [68], gambling [60], and smoking lapse [8]. Decades of prior works show that one of the major precipitants of such behaviors is the existence of 'contexts' or situational factors that may increase the risk of impulsive behaviors and in some cases, may lead to the final occurrence of the impulsive behavior.…”