Abstract
Gambling urges and gambling refusal self-efficacy beliefs play a major role in the development and maintenance of problem gambling. This study aimed to translate the Gambling Urge Scale (GUS) and the Gambling Refusal Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (GRSEQ) from English to Italian (GUS-I, GRSEQ-I) and to test their factor structure, internal consistency, construct validity, concurrent validity, and gender differences in 513 individuals from the Italian community. Factor structure and construct validity were tested through Confirmatory Factor Analysis, internal consistency through Cronbach’s alpha, concurrent validity through correlations with gambling-related cognitions (GRCS-I), probable pathological gambling (SOGS-I), and gambling functioning (GFA-R-I). Results confirmed that the 6 items of the GUS-I load highly on one dimension of Gambling Urge, and each of the 26 items of the GRSEQ-I load highly on their relevant sub-dimension, among the following: situations/thoughts, drugs, positive emotions, negative emotions. Both scales are internally consistent and show concurrent validity with gambling-related cognitions, probable pathological gambling, and gambling functioning. Males score higher than females at the GUS-I; females score higher than males at the GRSEQ-I. The findings from the present study suggest that the GUS-I and the GRSEQ-I are internally consistent and valid scales for the assessment of gambling urges and gambling refusal self-efficacy in Italian individuals from the community, with significant repercussions in terms of assessment, prevention, and intervention.
Highlights
Gambling urges and gambling refusal self-efficacy beliefs play a major role in the development and maintenance of problem gambling
The findings from the present study suggest that the Gambling Urge Scale (GUS)-I and the Gambling Refusal Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (GRSEQ)-I are internally consistent and valid scales for the assessment of gambling urges and gambling refusal self-efficacy in Italian individuals from the community, with significant repercussions in terms of assessment, prevention, and intervention
We hypothesized that (1) the factor structures of the GUS-I and the GRSEQ-I are consistent with their relevant, original theoretical models (Casey et al 2008; Raylu and Oei 2004b), respectively; (2) the scales are internally consistent; (3) both scales correlate with established and validated scales assessing problem gambling; (4) males score higher than females at the GUS-I, and females score higher than males at the GRSEQ-I, in line with previous studies
Summary
Gambling urges and gambling refusal self-efficacy beliefs play a major role in the development and maintenance of problem gambling. Results confirmed that the 6 items of the GUS-I load highly on one dimension of Gambling Urge, and each of the 26 items of the GRSEQ-I load highly on their relevant sub-dimension, among the following: situations/thoughts, drugs, positive emotions, negative emotions Both scales are internally consistent and show concurrent validity with gambling-related cognitions, probable pathological gambling, and gambling functioning. The findings from the present study suggest that the GUS-I and the GRSEQ-I are internally consistent and valid scales for the assessment of gambling urges and gambling refusal self-efficacy in Italian individuals from the community, with significant repercussions in terms of assessment, prevention, and intervention. The validation of reliable scales to measure key factors in the development and maintenance of problem gambling in the Italian context is warranted, potentially playing an important role in improving assessment policies at the national level, helping a number of individuals from the community finding adequate screening and treatment. A number of studies found that problem gamblers are more likely to activate gambling-related cognitions than non-problem players and non-gamblers Joukhador et al 2003; Toneatto 1999; Walker 1992)
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