Issue 4

VACPG Fact Sheet Spring 2016

GAMBLING FACTORS
A Virginia Council on Problem Gambling Fact Sheet
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Psychological disorders, such as gambling disorder, are complex and varied. Every individual with
gambling disorder is unique and it is important to be aware of the dierent factors that can play a
part. Such factors can include race, ethnicity, age, marital status, personality characteristics, and
more. The VACPG has discussed, or plans to discuss, some specific factors in other fact sheets, so
if you are looking for specific information and dont find it here, check it out online at
www.vacpg.org. Keep in mind that associating a specific factor directly to gambling is not always
clear-cut, as there are often other factors mediating the relationship.

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Editors: Jessica Bourdon, B.S., B.A. & Carolyn Hawley, Ph.D.
Issue 4 VACPG Fact Sheet Spring 2016

Marital Status:1 Marital status can have a significant influence on gambling relapse among problem
gambler. Specifically, participants who were single had higher rates of relapse.

Gambling Amount:1 Individuals with problem gambling have been found to relapse at higher rates
when they bet smaller amounts of money. This is likely because a small bet may not have as
immediate of an eect on finances as a big bet. A small bet may not also cue an individual into their
own problem or be enough for a family member to notice, whereas a big bet may raise a red flag.

Alcohol and other substance use:2,3 It is well-known that alcohol and gambling disorder often
occur together. The specifics of this relationship, however, are still being uncovered. For example, it
was recently found that while alcohol aects an individuals desires and descriptions of how they
feel (e.g., want to gamble), it does not aect average bet amount or any other aspect of gambling
behavior. Conversely, nicotine has been found to not aect an individuals cognitive thoughts or
beliefs about gambling, but has been found to increase gambling behavior. Thus, while alcohol and
nicotine both aect gambling, they do so in inverse manners.

In younger populations, it has been found that adolescents who are at risk for problem gambling
tend to have higher rates of smoking, heavy smoking, smoking earlier in life, and parental approval
of smoking, in addition to fewer attempts to quit. Additionally, adolescents at low- or high-risk for
problem gambling who smoked were likely to have lifetime use of marijuana, heavy alcohol use, and
heavy caeine use.

Suicide:4 While pathological gamblers tend to have a high risk for suicide ideation and attempts, the
gambling behavior itself is not associated with suicide attempts. However, suicidal ideation has
been found to be associated with the age of onset of gambling symptoms.

Beliefs, cognitive, and personality traits:5,6 Among problem gamblers who prefer electronic
gambling machines, one study found that having distorted gambling beliefs and gambling to escape
negative emotions were associated with gambling behavior. If an individual has specific personality
traits that increase their propensity to gamble, such cognitive patterns can mediate that relationship.
In addition, poor self-regulation has an eect on gambling frequency and individuals with
pathological gambling tend to show higher neuroticism-anxiety, impulsivity, and sensation-seeking
scores.

References
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1. Aragay N, Jimenez-Murcia S, Granero R, et al. Pathological gambling: Understanding relapses and dropouts. Comp Psychiat.
2015;57:58-64

2. Barrett SP, Collins P, Stewart SH. The acute eects of tobacco smoking and alcohol consumption on video-lottery terminal
gambling. Pharm Biochem Beh. 2015;130:34-39.

3. Weinberger AH, Franco CA, Ho RA, et al. Cigarette smoking, problem-gambling severity, and health behaviors in high-school
students. Addic Beh Rep. 2015;1:40-48.

4. Bischof A, Meyer C, Bischof G, et al. Suicidal events among pathological gamblers: The role of comorbidity of axis I and axis II
disorders. Psychiat Res. 2015;225:413-419.

5. MacLaren V, Ellery M, Knoll T. Personality, gambling motives, and cognitive distortions in electronic gambling machine players.
Personal Indiv Di. 2015;73:24-28.

6. Ramos-Grille I, Goma-i-Friexanet M, aragay N, Valero S, Valles V. Predicting treatment failure in pathological gambling: The role
of personality traits. Addic Beh. 2015;43:54-59.

Editors: Jessica Bourdon, B.S., B.A. & Carolyn Hawley, Ph.D.