Understanding motivation to abstain from Pathological Gambling: The influence of negative expectancies and moderation inefficac

The present investigation aimed to test a theory-guided model of problem gambling cessation in a sample who were quitting without professional assistance. The main hypothesis was that higher levels of moderation inefficacy (MIE) and higher levels of negative outcome expectancies (NOE) would combine to produce higher levels of both readiness to change (RTC) and commitment to abstinence (CTA). Respondents consisted of 62 community-dwelling problematic gamblers whose change goal was abstinence. Regression and moderation analyses were performed. Results showed that higher levels of NOE predicted residual criterion variance in RTC, but not CTA. MIE was not found to be a significant predictor, and the predicted interaction between NOE and MIE was nonsignificant. Post-hoc analyses revealed that there may be significant gender differences. Results of the present study have important implications for the development of brief online motivation enhancements which aim to reduce the public health burden of problematic gambling.