title: Psychometric properties of the Gambling Related Cognitions Scale (GRCS) in young Italian gamblers.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The involvement in gambling activities is increasing among adolescents, together with the risk of developing gambling problems. Given the important role of erroneous beliefs on adolescent problematic gambling behavior, the aim of this study was to investigate the adequacy of the Gambling Related Cognitions Scale (GRCS; Raylu & Oei, 2004) to assess gambling-related distortions among youth in Italy.
  
  
  METHODS
  The scale was administered to 1656 Italian high school students (65% males, mean age=16.15 years, SD=1.44), and analyses were carried out with respondents who have gambled during the previous year (N=1224).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The adequacy of the five-factor model was confirmed (both among male and female adolescent gamblers), as well as the reliability of the total scale and subscales. Evidence for the validity of the GRCS among adolescents was provided confirming the relationship between gambling-related cognitions and problem gambling found in previous studies. Research on the validity of the scale was also extended by investigating the relationship between cognitive distortions about gambling and the frequency of engaging in different gambling activities.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results confirm that the GRCS is an effective multidimensional instrument which accurately measures young gamblers' cognitive distortions relating to gambling. As such, it can be used as a useful tool in the assessment and treatment of juvenile gambling.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Drug, and Child's Health (NEUROFARBA), Section of Psychology, University of Florence, Italy. Electronic address: marianna_donati@yahoo.it.
authors.forename: Maria Anna
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Donati
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Drug, and Child's Health (NEUROFARBA), Section of Psychology, University of Florence, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ancona
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Drug, and Child's Health (NEUROFARBA), Section of Psychology, University of Florence, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Chiesi
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Drug, and Child's Health (NEUROFARBA), Section of Psychology, University of Florence, Italy.
authors.forename: Caterina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Primi
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D003071:Cognition; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D005715:Gambling / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D008297:Male; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Adolescents; Cognitive distortions; GRCS; Gambling-related cognitions; Validity