Search

Although some studies have been conducted on gambling behaviour in the general population or in clinical samples during the COVID-19 pandemic, less attention has been focused on Affected Family Members (AFMs) of disordered gamblers. To fill this gap, this study investigated the psychological state of disordered gamblers' AFMs during the COVID-19 lockdown in Italy, the European country first affected by the virus and with the largest gambling market. We were interested in understanding if the unavailability of most land-based gambling offerings during the lockdown created a sense of relief in AFMs. We also compared the quality of family relationships and emotional state during the lockdown of AFMs with those of their relative with Gambling Disorder (GD). Participants were 53 disordered gamblers' AFMs (77% female; mean age = 50.28). For 42 out of the 53 AFMs, we also recruited their relative with GD (86% male; mean age = 48.98). A semi-structured telephone interview was developed. Although AFMs reported a general interruption of the relative's gambling behaviour and a general sense of relief for the closure of gambling activities, accompanied by the perception of good family relationships, AFMs still felt tired, worried, and apprehensive and perceived more fear, stress, and anxiety than before the lockdown. A large proportion of AFMs engaged in potentially addictive behaviours, especially TV and mobile phone and Internet use, which increased in frequency compared to before the pandemic. They still perceived some gambling-related problematic behaviours from their relative and put in place coping strategies to manage the gambling problem. Even if they had a general positive orientation towards the future, they experienced fear when thinking about the reopening of gambling opportunities at the end of the lockdown. Compared to their relatives with GD, AFMs appeared more prone to perceiving a general negative state and a worsening of it from before the lockdown. Overall, this study shows that disordered gambling's AFMs can be considered as a particularly at-risk group who deserves focused clinical attention even during gambling closures related to pandemic lockdown. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Dysfunctional decision-making and intense craving represent pivotal aspects across all addictive behaviors, notably evident in gambling addiction where these factors significantly shape chasing behavior-continuing gambling to recoup losses-indicative of problematic gambling. This study explores the correlation between chasing behavior, craving, affective decision-making, decision-making styles, and gambling severity among habitual Italian gamblers., Methods: One hundred and sixty-six participants from diverse gambling venues completed assessments including the South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS), the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT), the General Decision-Making Style (GDMS), the Gambling Craving Scale (GACS), and a computerized task to measure chasing behavior. Participants were randomly assigned to Control and Loss chasing conditions., Results: Regression analyses revealed craving as a predictor of chasing behavior. Interestingly, individuals with a dependent decision-making style exhibited lower tendencies to chase. While IGT performance correlates with chasing frequency, it is not associated with the decision to continue or cease gambling. Intriguingly, gambling severity (SOGS total score) did not feature in the final models of both regression analyses., Discussion: These findings emphasize the significant role of craving in driving chasing behavior. Additionally, this study introduces, for the first time, the idea that a dependent decision-making style could potentially serve as a safeguard against chasing proneness., Conclusions: The study suggests a fundamental dichotomy between chasers and nonchasers among gamblers, irrespective of gambling severity. This distinction could be instrumental in tailoring more effective intervention strategies for gambling disorder treatment., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

The intervention is aimed at capturing in particular the development of the criminological and victimological relationships that gambling disorder produces, in order to develop a significant database on the relationship between "game", "gamblers" and "reference environment". The analysis draws from the documentary and statistical collection contained in the international literature (the most important research) produced to date on the theme of gambling and the careers of gamblers - traditional and online - and the cryogenic relationships that result as well as the specificity of a local reality in central Italy (Southern Lazio). The survey was carried out through questionnaires administered in Southern Lazio to students, adults and the elderly in relation to the activities of the anti-wear counters (anti-wear services). Specifically, it appears an examination of the criminological and victimological components: the first, relating to crimes committed by playing in contexts or in ways deemed by the legal system of reference to be illegal (in reference to the Italian legislature); another dimension concerns gambling as a factor of criminogenesis, for the gamblers is to commit crimes to finance their bets (theft, robbery, money laundering, prostitution) or to favor the result (scams); and again, problematic gambling behaviors as a cause of victimization processes involving specifically the children of gamblers (abuse, child abandonment); finally, gambling as extrication, aiding and abetting, activities for commercial purposes (lawful and not) organised crime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Gambling disorder is an increasing phenomenon worldwide. To date, many international governments have adopted restrictive measures to contain and prevent the transition from social to problematic behaviours. The aim of this observational, cross-sectional study was to explore the views from both gamblers and mental health professionals on prevention strategies for GD and gambling-related harm. Methods: A questionnaire was disseminated in gambling halls, online, and in outpatient and inpatient units. The only inclusion criterion was to have gambled at least five times in the last year. The questionnaire investigated views about a wide range of preventive strategies for gambling and related harm proposed by different European governments. The sample was then subdivided in people with GD, transitioning/problem gamblers and non-problem/social gamblers according to the South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS). Data from mental health professionals were collected with a different questionnaire disseminated through an online survey. Results and conclusions: A total of 261 active gamblers were included in the study. Seventy-nine of them could be classified as participants with GD. The most helpful preventive policy according to gamblers was the creation of exclusion registers. The differences between the groups were not significant apart from a proposal regarding the possibility of inserting betting limits, limitations of opening hours for gambling halls, and the fixing of minimum distances between gambling halls and meeting centres. Data from professional workers confirmed the relevance of exclusion registers and showed the importance of adequately informing people about the risks of gambling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on a study which estimate prevalence of gambling among European professional athletes and explore factors that are associated with gambling practice and gambling problems in professional athletes. It states that self-completion questionnaire was designed for this study and socio-demographic variables, variables linked to gambling and impulsive behavior data were gathered. It mentions that instruments used for screening problem gambling were all validated.

Chasing, or continuing to gamble to recoup losses, is a behavioral marker and a diagnostic criterion for gambling disorder. Research on chasing has focused mainly on adults, whereas the analysis of chasing behavior among adolescents has not received empirical attention in the gambling literature. 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. Three hundred and sixty-four adolescents took part in the study. Participants completed the South Oaks Gambling Screen Revised for Adolescents (SOGS-RA), the Gambling Craving Scale (GACS), the 14-item Consideration of Future Consequences scale (CFC-14), the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), and performed a computerized task assessing chasing behavior. Participants were randomly assigned to the control and the loss condition of the computerized task. Results indicated that the choice to continue playing, as well as chasing frequency did not vary as a function of experimental condition. Hierarchical logistic and linear regression analyses revealed that the decision to chase depended mostly on craving, whereas chasing propensity was affected by craving and alcohol misuse. Notably, gambling severity did not predict either the decision to chase, or the chasing persistence. The present study contributes important findings to the gambling literature, highlighting the role of craving alcohol use in facilitating the inability to stop within-sessions gambling among adolescents. These findings may provide evidence that nonchasers and chasers represent two different types of gamblers, and that the difference may be useful for targeting more effective therapies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic, with the consequent lockdown of about 3 months, can be viewed as an experimental model to observe the impact of the depletion of environmental factors that stimulate gambling, particularly electronic gambling machines (EGMs) that were set to zero. The effects of some structural characteristics of gambling activities that increase gambling behavior were studied among disordered gamblers in treatment in this unique scenario. In fact, studies investigating the effects of the lockdown on problem gamblers (PGs) under treatment are missing. The aims of this study were to analyze patients' gambling behavior and craving during the lockdown and to conduct a comparison between gambling disorder (GD) symptoms at the beginning of the treatment and during lockdown. The study was conducted in Italy, the European country with the largest gambling market and the first to be affected by the virus. Data were collected through a semi-structured telephone interview conducted by healthcare professionals. Participants were 135 PGs under treatment (109 males, mean age = 50.07). Results showed that most PGs achieved a significant improvement in their quality of life, with less gambling behavior, GD symptoms, and lower craving. No shift toward online gambling and very limited shift towards other potential addictive and excessive behaviors occurred. The longer the treatment, the more monitoring is present and the better the results in terms of symptoms reduction. Individual and environmental characteristics during the lockdown favored the reduction in symptoms. Consideration for prevention and treatment are discussed.

Gambling disorder (GD) is a psychiatric condition and it is characterized by a maladaptive pattern of gambling behavior that persists despite negative consequences in major areas of life functioning. In Italy, CNR (National Research Council) underlined how over 17 million, 42.8% of the population aged 15–64 have a gambling behavior. Among them, there are over one million students, aged 15–19, equal to 44.2% of Italian students; the number of minors in Italy with GD in 2017 was 580,000, equal to 33.6%. Various psychosocial treatment models have been adapted for GD; on the other hand no drug has received regulatory approval in any jurisdiction as a specific psychopharmacological treatment for GD. Family therapy interventions for treatment of substance abuse problems have been adapted for adolescents GD. Given the increasing overall prevalence of adolescent gambling, it is imperative that Pediatricians appreciate that gambling problems can also afflict adolescents. In conclusion underage gambling appears to be associated positively with alcohol, tobacco and other substance use, as well as with other individual behaviors, therefore we need that collaborative efforts between scientific societies, government and stake holders can influence the uptake of research findings necessary to implement social policies and design effective public health intervention options. Educational-based problem gambling prevention programs are important avenues in targeting at-risk behaviors among adolescents to prevent an escalation of problematic behaviors into adulthood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chasing, or continuing to gamble in an attempt to recoup losses, is a salient feature of problematic gambling. This study, which controlled for gambling severity and alcohol consumption, investigated the association between chasing and maladaptive personality trait domains among habitual gamblers. Participants comprised 126 adult habitual gamblers (73% males) aged between 18 and 69 years. They were administered the South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS), the Personality Inventory for DSM-5-Brief Form (PID-5-BF), the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), and a computerized task developed to assess chasing behavior. Participants were randomly assigned to two chasing conditions (Control and Loss). Data were submitted to correlational analysis, univariate and mixed-model ANOVAs, logistic and linear regression analyses. Results showed that the decision to chase was strongly associated with the PID-5-BF Disinhibition domain scores, whereas chasing proneness was related to the Disinhibition, Detachment and Psychoticism domains. Interestingly, chasers scored higher than nonchasers on maladaptive personality dimensions, even after controlling for gender, age, chasing condition, alcohol consumption, and gambling severity. Since these findings support the idea that chasers and nonchasers are different subtypes of gamblers, clinical interventions should take into account the additive role of chasing in gambling disorder., (Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.)