title: The Categorical Stability of Gambling Motives Among Community-Recruited Gamblers: A Longitudinal Assessment.
abstract: Over the past decade, several motivational models have been proposed to explain the role of motives in gambling disorder. In the model captured by the four-factor Gambling Motives Questionnaire Financial (GMQ-F), gamblers are described as being primarily motivated to gamble for 'coping', 'enhancement', 'social', and 'financial' reasons. Although this model has received significant empirical support; to date, research assessing the role of motives in gambling disorder has been primarily cross-sectional in nature. Thus, the extent to which gambling motives remain stable over time has yet to be explored. In the current study, the stability versus fluidity of self-assessed gambling motives was investigated using the Quinte Longitudinal Study, a longitudinal dataset of gambling behaviour collected over 5 years. Gambling motives of 2795 gamblers were examined over all five annual assessments. The total proportion of gamblers who stayed in the same primary motive category across each of the 5 consecutive assessments was 22%, indicating substantial fluidity in category membership. Substantial movement between categories was seen for each GMQ-F group, as well as an additional group of non-classified motives. Logistic regression analyses suggest that greater resistance to gambling fallacies significantly predicted stability between the baseline assessment and a follow-up 1 year later, but gambling severity did not. Potential limitations in the study design and opportunities for future research are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4, Canada. daniel.mcgrath@ucalgary.ca.
authors.forename: Daniel S
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2772-942X
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: McGrath
authors.affiliation: Research and Academics Division, Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care, Penetanguishene, ON, Canada.|Institute of Behavioral Sciences, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.|Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Barna
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Konkolÿ Thege
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D016739:Behavior, Addictive / Q000523:psychology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005715:Gambling / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009042:Motivation; D012309:Risk-Taking; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Gambling disorder; Gambling motives; Group stability; Longitudinal design; Reasons for gambling