Cognitive Distortions in Problem Gambling

The third subscale (goal-corrected partnership) also comprises three items (e.g., “I feel for my mum/dad when he/she is upset”) and reflects Bowlby’ concept that secure attachment bonds are characterized by an increasing sense of empathy toward the attachment figure. Individuals respond to these nine items on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). In this instrument, items of the availability and goal-corrected partnership subscales are reversed, so that higher scores on the total scale indicate lower levels of attachment. Cognitive distortions can result in maladaptive interpretations of events and maladaptive behavior.

Selective memory can be difficult to counteract, as it operates subconsciously, shaping behavior based on partial and distorted recollections. Selective memory is another cognitive distortion that reinforces gambling addiction. This bias occurs when individuals remember their wins more vividly than their losses, creating an inflated sense of success. Selective memory in gambling leads to an unrealistic belief in one’s luck or skill, as the mind subconsciously ignores or downplays losses while amplifying memories of wins 6. Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated to examine the relationships among the study variables.

Sociodemographic information and gambling frequency

Dotted lines represent indirect effects, while continuous lines indicate direct effects. Talkspace articles are written by experienced mental health-wellness contributors; they are grounded in scientific research and evidence-based practices. Articles are extensively reviewed by our team of clinical experts (therapists and psychiatrists of various specialties) to ensure content is accurate and on par with current industry standards. Instead, it’s a chance for you to reflect, learn, and adjust your plan moving forward. Talking about your gambling with a loved one can be uncomfortable, but it’s a powerful step toward healing. You might start with, “I’ve been struggling with gambling and I’m trying to make some changes,” or “I could use some support trying to stop gambling.” You might be surprised at how willing the people in your life are to help you succeed.

1. Participants

In addition, at the individual level, some empirical research has examined cognitive distortions (e.g., Ariyabuddhiphongs, 2013; Griffiths, 1994; Tang & Wu, 2012). According to some research, adolescent problem gamblers have erroneous beliefs about the independence of random gambling events and tend to overestimate their chances of winning (Delfabbro, Lahn, & Grabosky, 2006; Froberg, https://gullybetofficial.com/ 2006; Turner, Macdonald, Bartoshuk, & Zangeneh, 2008). Compulsive gambling can be tied to trauma-related addiction, anxiety, depression, and unresolved emotional issues. Many people use gambling as a coping mechanism or a way to escape these distressing feelings, only to find that gambling makes their problems worse. Working with a licensed therapist can help you explore what’s fueling your compulsive gambling, identify your triggers, and build healthier coping skills so you can break the cycle. A further specific cognitive distortion not identified in our sample is Flexible attribution.

• Participants were also asked to indicate how often they had gambled during the past year from 1 (“never”) to 6 (“everyday”).
• We found a difference between the number of identified distorted thoughts in the two groups.
• For the first set of analyses, descriptive statistics were performed to report the gambling habits and gambling activities most played by participants.
• In our current study, the verbal manifestations of healthy adults were studied during a slot machine simulation, with the help of the “thinking aloud” procedure and deductive content analysis.
• The direct path from emotion-focused coping to problem gambling was positively significant and the direct path from problem-focused coping was negatively significant (Table 4).

In the case of gamblers, these superstitious beliefs usually appear in the form of behaviors and actions (Custer and Milt, 1985), which gamblers make attempts with to have an effect on the result of a bet (Rogers, 1998; Toneatto, 1999; Joukhador et al., 2003, 2004). These behaviors develop after a longer active gambling period (Joukhador et al., 2004), which also suggests that these cognitive distortions could indicate the presence of a gambling disorder or its severity. Many of the findings on distortions in gambling have been derived from observing the speech production of gamblers during gambling.

Attitudes, attachment, and family structure did not show a significant relationship with problematic gambling. According to Griffiths (1994), there is no clear evidence that cognitive distortions emerging in the verbalizations of gamblers affect the individual’s behavior. However, reinforcement, among others, plays a significant role (Ladouceur and Gaboury, 1988). On the contrary, contemporary models suggest that distortions can predict future involvement in problem gambling and its maintenance (Yakovenko et al., 2016; Goodie et al., 2019). According to the Pathway Model of Blaszczynski and Nower (2002), cognitive distortions are present in all types of gamblers with different etiological backgrounds.

However, chasing is not confined, as DSM criteria would seem to suggest, to between-session chasing (i.e., returning on a later day to recoup lost money). Chasing also refers to the tendency to gamble too long within a gambling session (within-session chasing; Breen & Zuckerman, 1999, p. 1080). For instance, Blaszczynski and Nower’s pathways model (2002) assumes that there are two forms of chasing, namely chasing losses and chasing wins, since chasing behavior refers to persistent gambling both when losing or winning within a gambling session (Goodie et al., 2019). People tend to simplify their interpretation of the situation when faced with complex situations with difficult-to-predict outcomes.