| Pathological gambling is a serious disorder that affects 1%--3% of the adult population (APA, 1994). Research suggests that 5 factors are consistently associated with pathological gambling: Gambling cognitive distortions, dysphoric mood, impulsivity, the capacity to dissociate while gambling, and an avoidant-focused coping style. Most research to date has explored these factors in isolation from one another. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to examine the interactive effects of these factors on Video Lottery Terminal (VLT) gambling, which has been shown to be especially conducive to the development of gambling problems (Doiron & Nicki, 2001). Onehundred-thirty-six community-sampled VLT players completed self-report inventories pertaining to each of the 5 factors listed above, and problem gambling severity. Correlational analyses and hierarchical multiple regression were used to analyze the data. Several 2- and 3-way interactions were found, which suggested that particular combinations of levels of the factors are associated with greater problem gambling severity. For example, higher levels of avoidant-focused coping, negative affect, and the capacity to dissociate while using VLTs was associated with high scores on 2 measures of problems gambling severity. These and other findings are discussed in terms of their implications for the prevention and treatment of pathological gambling, and directions for future research. |
