Gambling motives and problem gambling: Exploring psychological moderators in the pathways model.

Background: Relationships between gambling motives and problem gambling have been identified in previous research. There is, however, evidence of moderate-to-high heterogeneity in these associations, suggesting that further research is required to elucidate which gamblers are more susceptible to the influence of different types of motives. This study aims to (1) explore the relationship between gambling motives (Gambling Motives Questionnaire-Financial coping, enhancement, social, financial) and problem gambling (Problem Gambling Severity Index); and (2) investigate the degree to which psychological variables implicated by the pathways model (positive reinforcement high-risk situations, negative reinforcement high-risk situations, psychological distress, emotional dysregulation, distress intolerance and impulsivity) moderate these relationships.

Methods: A convenience sample of 342 past-month gamblers (M = 29.09, SD = 10.39), who were mostly classified with low-risk, moderate-risk or problem gambling (90.14 %), completed an online survey including an assessment of gambling motives, problem gambling, and these psychological variables.

Results: All gambling motives positively predicted problem gambling (OR = 1.18-1.59, p < 0.001). In the moderation analyses, significant interaction effects were found between coping motives and lack of clarity (emotional clarity) (OR = 1.05, p = 0.024), all motives and distress tolerance (OR = 0.95-0.96, p=< 0.001-0.006), and enhancement motives and positive urgency (OR = 1.03, p = 0.020).

Conclusions: This is the first known study to use psychological variables explicated by the pathways model to moderate the relationship between gambling motives and problem gambling, with a view to explaining some of the heterogeneity in these relationships. The identification of significant interactions has clinical implications for the development of targeted prevention and intervention programs.