Characteristics of regular gamblers in Italy: The role of control and emotion regulation

Objective: the main purpose of this study is to investigate the emotional and temperamental characteristics associated with gambling in Italy and to compare different groups of people on the basis of their risk of gambling: low-risk gamblers, problem gamblers, and pathological gamblers. Particularly, we examined the possible discriminant functions of perception of control, locus of control (whether internal or chance-based; that is, devoted to fate), and emotion-regulation strategies (cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression). Method: a total of 251 adult regular gamblers (142 males and 109 females) recruited from different betting and bingo halls completed self-report questionnaires on gambling behaviors, lack of control as temperamental dimension, locus of control and emotional regulation strategies. Results: pathological gamblers, in comparison to low-risk gamblers, had lower levels of internal locus of control and cognitive reappraisal and higher levels of chance locus of control. Results from a discriminant function analysis have underlined the presence of two distinct functions: the former, named “unmanageable and stressful fate,” describes an egosyntonic position to gambling; the latter, named “I’d like to resist,” describes the egodystonic position to gambling. Conclusions: findings suggest considering regular gamblers as a heterogeneous group with respect to their attitudes towards their addiction. This can have important implications for their treatment.