An experimental investigation of the role of delay discounting and craving in gambling chasing behavior

Ciccarelli, M, Cosenza, M, D'Olimpio, F, Griffiths, MD ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8880-6524 and Nigro, G, 2019. An experimental investigation of the role of delay discounting and craving in gambling chasing behavior. Addictive Behaviors, 93, pp. 250-256. ISSN 0306-4603

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Abstract

Chasing is a central feature of gambling disorder and refers to the attempt by individuals to recover financial losses by continuing to gamble. Although several efforts have been made to individuate the factors involved in the complex phenomenon of chasing, little is known regarding its association with delay discounting and craving, both considered important in the development and maintenance of gambling disorder. In the present study, the interplay between chasing, delay discounting, and craving (while controlling for gambling severity) was investigated. The sample comprised 128 adult gamblers aged between 18 and 67 years and consisted of non-problem gamblers (n = 58), problem gamblers (n = 18), and pathological gamblers (n = 52) based on the South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS) scores. Participants were administered the Monetary Choice Questionnaire (MCQ) and the Gambling Craving Scale (GACS), as well as completing the ChasIT, a computerized task assessing chasing behavior. Participants were randomly assigned to the control and the loss condition of the ChasIT. Results showed that pathological gamblers were more likely to chase and reported more severe chasing persistence. Regression analyses indicated that heightened levels of craving and the inability to tolerate delay in gratification, along with gambling severity, predicted both the decision to chase and chasing persistence. The present study contributes important findings to the gambling literature, highlighting the role of craving and delay discounting in facilitating the inability to stop within-sessions gambling. These findings may provide evidence that chasers and non-chasers represent two different types of gamblers, and that the difference may be useful for targeting more effective therapies.

Item Type:	Journal article
Publication Title:	Addictive Behaviors
Creators:	Ciccarelli, M., Cosenza, M., D'Olimpio, F., Griffiths, M.D. and Nigro, G.
Publisher:	Pergamon Press
Date:	2019
Volume:	93
ISSN:	0306-4603
Identifiers:	Number Type 10.1016/j.addbeh.2019.02.002 DOI S0306460318313406 Publisher Item Identifier
Divisions:	Schools > School of Social Sciences
Record created by:	Jonathan Gallacher
Date Added:	06 Mar 2019 16:15
Last Modified:	06 Mar 2019 16:15
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/35914

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