Using the Risk-Return Model to Explain Gambling Disorder Symptoms in Youth: An Empirical Investigation with Italian Adolescents

AbstractHistorically, individual differences research has sought to explain problem-gambling severity in adolescence by means of unitary “risk-taking” traits, such as sensation seeking and impulsivity, implying that these personality traits account for risk-taking tendencies across different types of behaviors and situations. However, increasing empirical evidence suggests that risk taking seems to be better conceptualized as a d omain-specific construct. In the current study, we adopted a psychological risk-return framework, which posits that perceptions of perceived risks and benefits predict gambling risk attitudes, which in turn, account for variance in Gambling Disorder (GD) symptoms in adolescents. The study involved 2 96 Italian adolescents (68% boys,Mage = 17.76, SD = 1.17). Participants completed the risk-taking, risk perception, and expected benefits scales from the AdolescentDomain Specific Risk Taking (DOSPERT) scale (Barkley-Levenson et al. in Dev Cognitive Neurosci 3: 72 –83, 2013), as well as theGambling Behavior Scale for Adolescents (GBS-A; as reported (Primi et al. in Gambling Behavior Scale for Adolescents in, Hogrefe, Florence, 2015) were administered. Consistent with predictions, risk-taking scores for the Gambling domain predicted adolescent gambling outcomes, relative to the other DOSPERT risk-domains (Ethical, Health/Safety, Recreational, Social). Additionally, we found that greater Gambling risk perceptions were associated with lower...
Source: Journal of Gambling Studies - Category: Addiction Source Type: research