Development and validation of the Trading Disorder Scale for assessing problematic trading behaviors

Coloma-Carmona, A, Carballo, JL, Miró-Llinares, F, Aguerri, JC and Griffiths, MD ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8880-6524, 2025. Development and validation of the Trading Disorder Scale for assessing problematic trading behaviors. Journal of Behavioral Addictions. ISSN 2062-5871

Preview

Text 2415285_Griffiths.pdf - Published version Download (793kB) | Preview

Abstract

Background and aims: There is growing evidence regarding the overlap between trading behaviors and gambling. However, problematic trading behaviors are often assessed using gambling-related instruments, which may not fully capture the nuances of trading. The present study developed and evaluated the psychometric properties of the Trading Disorder Scale (TDS), grounded in in the research criteria proposed by Guglielmo et al. (2016), based on DSM-5 criteria for gambling disorder and internet gaming disorder.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was administered to 403 Spanish amateur traders. The TDS was tested for reliability, validity, and factorial structure. Latent class analysis (LCA) was used to identify patterns of disordered trading.

Results: EFA and CFA supported a one-factor solution for the TDS, which showed strong internal consistency (ωu-cat = 0.938, KR-20 = 0.877). The scale showed good concurrent validity with PGSI (r = 0.559) and good convergent validity with trading-related variables. LCA identified three classes: non-disordered trading (72.2%), at-risk trading (17.6%), and disordered trading (10.2%). Individuals in the disordered trading group scored higher on TDS, traded more frequently, monitored markets more intensively, and exhibited higher rates of problem gambling (PGSI≥5), impulsivity, and substance use. Guglielmo's cut-off point (≥5 criteria) effectively differentiated individuals with disordered trading behaviors from those at-risk and those without disordered trading.

Conclusions: The TDS is a reliable and valid instrument for assessing disordered trading among amateur investors. Further research is needed to explore the scale's predictive validity.

Item Type:	Journal article
Publication Title:	Journal of Behavioral Addictions
Creators:	Coloma-Carmona, A., Carballo, J.L., Miró-Llinares, F., Aguerri, J.C. and Griffiths, M.D.
Publisher:	Akademiai Kiado Zrt.
Date:	24 March 2025
ISSN:	2062-5871
Identifiers:	Number Type 10.1556/2006.2025.00019 DOI 2415285 Other
Rights:	© 2025 the author(s). This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium for non-commercial purposes, provided the original author and source are credited, a link to the CC License is provided, and changes – if any – are indicated.
Divisions:	Schools > School of Social Sciences
Record created by:	Jonathan Gallacher
Date Added:	26 Mar 2025 15:14
Last Modified:	26 Mar 2025 15:14
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/53305

Actions (login required)

Edit View

Statistics

Views

Downloads