Abstract
Introduction: Impairments in emotion regulation are understood to be a transdiagnostic risk factor of suffering from compulsive and addictive behaviors. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of emotion regulation deficits in gambling disorder and to analyze these differences taking gender, age, and gambling activity preferences into account. Methods: The sample included n = 484 patients seeking treatment for gambling disorder at a specialized outpatient service. Main outcomes were sociodemographic variables, emotion regulation, and gambling severity. Results: Differences between sexes were found in non-acceptance of emotions. Older patients obtained higher levels in non-acceptance of emotions, lack of emotion regulation strategies, emotional clarity, and global emotion regulation scores. No differences were found in emotion scores considering gambling preferences (non-strategic versus strategic). Path analysis showed that emotion regulation scores and age had a direct effect on gambling disorder severity, while emotion regulation and gambling preference were not mediational variables in the relationships of gender and age with gambling severity. Conclusions: Emotion regulation impairments differ in patients seeking treatment for gambling problems. Early prevention and intervention programs should incorporate the different dimensions of this process, taking into account clinical phenotypes.
Highlights
Impairments in emotion regulation are understood to be a transdiagnostic risk factor of suffering from compulsive and addictive behaviors
Based on the theoretical framework mentioned above, the aims of the current study were: a) to evaluate differences in emotion regulation (ER) domains based on gender, age, and gambling preferences; b) to examine the predictive capacity of ER domains on gambling disorder (GD) severity and to explore the potential moderating role of gender, age, and gambling subtype; and c) to conduct a path analysis model valuing the underlying mechanism between gender, age, gambling preference, ER, and gambling severity
Based on the GD severity classification of DSM-5, n = 31 patients were in the problematic group (6.4% of the participants did not meet clinical criteria for GD diagnosis and reported between one and three symptoms), n = 66 in the low-severity group (13.6%, with four or five symptoms), n = 158 in the moderate-severity group (32.6%, with six or seven symptoms), and n = 229 in the severe group (47.3%, with eight or nine symptoms)
Summary
Impairments in emotion regulation are understood to be a transdiagnostic risk factor of suffering from compulsive and addictive behaviors. 275), ER refers to “those processes for which individuals exert an influence on their emotions, when have them and how ER in Gambling Disorder experience and express them.” Other models such as that by Gratz and Roemer [7] focus on difficulties in ER, underlying that healthy ER should consist in the capacity to modulate rather than suppress negative emotional states [8]. Studies focusing on clinical samples have shown that individuals with ER deficits often engage in maladaptive behaviors to downregulate or to escape from their emotions [1, 5, 9] These difficulties in managing emotions can lead to a lack of coping skills and bring about errors in self-regulation and impulse control, which constitute a risk factor for several disorders such as behavioral addictions [5, 10, 11]
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