title: [Alexithymia and Pathological Gambling: The Mediating Role of Difficulties in Emotion Regulation].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The main objective was to determine the prediction level of alexithymia and difficulties in emotion regulation on pathological gambling. Secondly, this study aimed to examine the mediating role of difficulties in emotion regulation on the relationship between alexithymia and pathological gambling.
  
  
  METHODS
  The sample was consisted of 246 male gamblers. The average age was 33.30 with a standard deviation of 11.62. In addition to socio-demographic form, The South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS), Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) and Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) were used to collect data.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Regression analyses revealed that amount of money bet, total score of TAS-20 and DERS significantly predicted pathological gambling. In addition to these, difficulties in emotion regulation have a partial mediator role in the relationship between alexithymia and pathological gambling.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  It is argued that individuals high in alexithymia become prone to addiction behavior through emotion dysregulation. In addition to the alexithymia level, difficulties in emotion regulation are seen to play an important role in pathological gambling. In this context, this study contributes to the relevant literature by discussing alexithymia, emotion regulation and pathological gambling together.
authors.forename: Hazal Gökçe
authors.initials: HG
authors.lastname: Elmas
authors.forename: Gizem
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cesur
authors.forename: E Timuçin
authors.initials: ET
authors.lastname: Oral
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000342:Affective Symptoms / Q000523:psychology*; D005715:Gambling / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011594:Psychometrics; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult