Situational coping with loss and control over gambling in regular poker machine players

Abstract

This study examined the relationship between coping with loss and impaired control over gambling in a sample of regular poker machine players (N = 226). Participants were classified into either a low control or high control group, based on their level of control over gambling behaviour as measured by the Scale of Gambling Choices (SGC; Baron, Dickerson, & Blaszczynski, 1995). Coping responses were assessed for three loss scenarios (a gambling loss, an uncontrollable loss, and a controllable loss) using a modified version of the COPE inventory (Carver, Scheier, & Weintraub, 1989). Players with low control over their gambling used significantly more avoidance-focused coping strategies than high control players, across all loss situations, regardless of the stressors appraised controllability. No significant difference was found between the groups for their use of either emotion or problem-focused coping strategies when managing losses unrelated to gambling. The results clarify earlier ambiguous findings and lend support for the role of coping in the erosion of control over gambling, as proposed by Dickerson and Baron (2000).