Losing sight of Luck: Automatic approach tendencies toward gambling cues in Canadian moderate- to high-risk gamblers - A replication study.

Evidence for approach bias tendencies to underly automatic behavioural impulses towards seeking out gambling activities in the presence of appetitive salient cues was first shown by Boffo et al. (2018) in a Dutch sample. Relative to non-problem gamblers, moderate-to-high-risk gamblers demonstrated stronger approach tendencies towards gambling-related stimuli compared with neutral ones. Moreover, gambling approach bias was associated with past-month gambling behaviour and predictive of gambling activity persistence over time. The current study aimed to replicate these findings within a Canadian sample evaluating the concurrent and longitudinal correlates of gambling approach bias. The study was conducted online, available throughout Canada. Twenty-seven non-treatment-seeking moderate-to-high-risk gamblers and 26 non-problem gamblers community-recruited via multiple channels (i.e., internet and newspaper advertisements, land-based flyers, and university recruitment portals). Participants completed two online assessment sessions 6-months apart. Each session included (1) self-report measures of gambling behaviour (frequency, duration, and expenditure), (2) self-report assessment of problem gambling severity (PGSI), and (3) a gambling approach-avoidance task, utilising culturally relevant stimuli tailored to individual gambling habits. However, our study failed to replicate Boffo et al. (2018) findings in a Canadian sample. Relative to non-problem gamblers, moderate-to-high-risk gamblers did not exhibit greater approach bias tendencies towards gambling-related stimuli compared to neutral stimuli. Moreover, gambling approach bias was not predictive of prospective gambling behaviour (frequency, duration, or expenditure) or severity of gambling problems. Reported results do not provide evidence for approach tendencies contributing to problematic gambling behaviour in a Canadian sample of moderate-to-high-risk gamblers compared to non-problematic gambler controls. Further replications on the topic are needed. Future research should evaluate approach tendencies within the gambling context, considering the potential impact of task reliability to assess approach bias in light of individual gambling modality preferences.

Luck, come here! Automatic approach tendencies toward gambling cues in moderate- to high-risk gamblers.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Similar to substance addictions, reward-related cognitive motivational processes, such as selective attention and positive memory biases, have been found in disordered gambling. Despite findings that individuals with substance use problems are biased to approach substance-related cues automatically, no study has yet focused on automatic approach tendencies for motivationally salient gambling cues in problem gamblers. We tested if moderate- to high-risk gamblers show a gambling approach bias and whether this bias was related prospectively to gambling behaviour and problems. DESIGN: Cross-sectional assessment study evaluating the concurrent and longitudinal correlates of gambling approach bias in moderate- to high-risk gamblers compared with non-problem gamblers. SETTING: Online study throughout the Netherlands. PARTICIPANTS: Twenty-six non-treatment-seeking moderate- to high-risk gamblers and 26 non-problem gamblers community-recruited via the internet. MEASUREMENTS: Two online assessment sessions 6 months apart, including self-report measures of gambling problems and behaviour (frequency, duration and expenditure) and the gambling approach avoidance task, with stimuli tailored to individual gambling habits. FINDINGS: Relative to non-problem gamblers, moderate- to high-risk gamblers revealed a stronger approach bias towards gambling-related stimuli than neutral stimuli (P = 0.03). Gambling approach bias was correlated positively with past-month gambling expenditure at baseline (P = 0.03) and with monthly frequency of gambling at follow-up (P = 0.02). In multiple hierarchical regressions, baseline gambling approach bias predicted monthly frequency positively (P = 0.03) and total duration of gambling episodes (P = 0.01) 6 months later, but not gambling problems or expenditure. CONCLUSIONS: In the Netherlands, relative to non-problem gamblers, moderate- to high-risk gamblers appear to have a stronger tendency to approach rather than to avoid gambling-related pictures compared with neutral ones. This gambling approach bias is associated concurrently with past-month gambling expenditure and duration of gambling and has been found to predict persistence in gambling behaviour over time.

Distorted Beliefs about Luck and Skill and Their Relation to Gambling Problems and Gambling Behavior in Dutch Gamblers.

Gamblers' cognitive distortions are thought to be an important mechanism involved in the development and maintenance of problem gambling. The Gambling Cognitions Inventory (GCI) evaluates two categories of distortions: beliefs that one is lucky (i.e., "Luck/Chance") and beliefs that one has special gambling-related skills (i.e., "Skill/Attitude"). Prior psychometric evaluations of the GCI demonstrated the utility of both subscales as measures of distortions and their concurrent relations to gambling problems among Canadian gamblers. However, these associations have not yet been studied in gamblers from other cultures nor have relationships between the GCI and indices of gambling behavior been investigated. In addition, the predictive validity of the GCI scales have not been evaluated in studies to date. The present study investigated the validity of the GCI as a measure of cognitive distortions in a sample of 49 Dutch gamblers by examining its concurrent and prospective relationships to both gambling problems (as measured through a standardized nine-item questionnaire assessing gambling-related problems) and behaviors (as measured through two variables: days spent gambling and time spent gambling in minutes) at baseline and over 1-month and 6-month intervals. The GCI subscales were internally consistent at all timepoints, and moderately to strongly inter-correlated at all timepoints. Each subscale correlated with an independent dimension of gambling both concurrently and prospectively: Luck/Chance was related to greater gambling problems and Skill/Attitude was related to greater gambling behavior. Thus, the two GCI subscales, while inter-correlated, appear to be related to different gambling outcomes, at least among Dutch gamblers. Moreover, the first evidence of the predictive validity of the GCI scales was demonstrated over a 1-month and 6-month interval. It is recommended that both types of cognitive distortions be considered in research and clinical practice to fully understand and address individual risk for excessive and problematic gambling.

The acute effects of tobacco smoking and alcohol consumption on video-lottery terminal gambling.

RATIONALE: Gamblers often use alcohol and/or tobacco when they gamble but little is known about the extent to which drinking or smoking affects gambling behavior. OBJECTIVES: This study examined the acute effects of alcohol and nicotine-containing tobacco administration on the subjective and behavioral responses to video-lottery terminal (VLT) gambling in 16 regular video-lottery terminal players (11 male) who were also regular consumers of alcohol and tobacco. METHODS: During four double-blind, counterbalanced sessions, participants assessed the subjective effects of nicotine-containing tobacco or denicotinized tobacco following the administration of a moderately intoxicating dose of alcohol or a placebo beverage. They were then given $40 and provided with an opportunity to gamble using an authentic VLT. RESULTS: Alcohol administration was associated with increased ratings of several subjective descriptors including "intoxicated", "high", "want alcohol", "crave cigarette", and "want to gamble" but did not affect subsequent gambling behavior. In contrast, relative to denicotinized tobacco, the administration of nicotine containing tobacco was associated with increased average wagers, but did not significantly alter subjective state. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that both alcohol and nicotine-containing tobacco may acutely increase the propensity to gamble using VLTs, but they may do so through separate processes.