Decision making, cognitive distortions and emotional distress: A comparison between pathological gamblers and healthy controls.
The etiology of problem gambling is multifaceted and complex. Among others factors, poor decision making, cognitive distortions (i.e., irrational beliefs about gambling), and emotional factors (e.g., negative mood states) appear to be among the most important factors in the development and maintenance of problem gambling. Although empirical evidence has suggested that cognitive distortions facilitate gambling and negative emotions are associated with gambling, the interplay between cognitive distortions, emotional states, and decision making in gambling remains unexplored.



Pathological gamblers (N = 54) and healthy controls (N = 54) completed the South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS), the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT), the Gambling Related Cognitions Scale (GRCS), and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21).



Compared to healthy controls, pathological gamblers showed poorer decision making and reported higher scores on measures assessing cognitive distortions and emotional distress. All measures were positively associated with gambling severity. A significant negative correlation between decision making and cognitive distortions was also observed. No associations were found between poor decision making and emotional distress. Logistic regression analysis indicated that cognitive distortions, emotional distress, and poor decision making were significant predictors of problem gambling.



The use of self-report measures and the absence of female participants limit the generalizability of the reported findings.



The present study is the first to demonstrate the mutual influence between irrational beliefs and poor decision making, as well as the role of cognitive bias, emotional distress, and poor decision making in gambling disorder.
Department of Psychology, Second University of Naples, Viale Ellittico, 31, 81100, Caserta, Italy. Electronic address: maria.ciccarelli@unina2.it.
Maria
M
Ciccarelli
Psychology Division, Department of Social Sciences, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, NG1 4BU, United Kingdom.
Mark D
MD
Griffiths
Department of Psychology, Second University of Naples, Viale Ellittico, 31, 81100, Caserta, Italy.
Giovanna
G
Nigro
Department of Psychology, Second University of Naples, Viale Ellittico, 31, 81100, Caserta, Italy.
Marina
M
Cosenza
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000209:etiology*; D003657:Decision Making / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005715:Gambling / Q000150:complications*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019964:Mood Disorders / Q000209:etiology*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D055815:Young Adult
Cognitive distortions; Decision making; Emotional distress; Gambling disorder; Pathological gambling