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Ghelfi M, Scattola P, Giudici G, Velasco V. Online Gambling: A Systematic Review of Risk and Protective Factors in the Adult Population. J Gambl Stud 2024; 40:673-699. [PMID: 37964161 PMCID: PMC11272810 DOI: 10.1007/s10899-023-10258-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/24/2023] [Indexed: 11/16/2023]
Abstract
In recent decades, internet gambling has seen strong growth and diffusion due to intrinsic characteristics that make it particularly attractive to players (accessibility, anonymity, variety of games). This paper aims to present the current state of knowledge of the risk and protective factors of online gambling. A literature search conducted in the PubMed, PsychInfo, and Scopus databases found 42 articles, which were included in the review. Methodological aspects and risk and protective factors were analysed cross-sectionally. The results concerning risk and protective factors were distinguished by the level of analysis: individual, relational, and contextual. Two types of comparisons were considered: online vs. offline gamblers and online nonproblematic vs. problematic gamblers. The results of the two comparisons were juxtaposed to analyse their consistency and the different associations with factors. In general, the review showed that risk factors and variables at the individual level are investigated to a greater extent, while protective factors at the relational and contextual level need more in-depth study in future research. More specifically, this review found that even if online and offline gamblers shared most risk and protective factors, there are variables that they would not have in common. These factors could be important to consider in preventive interventions aimed at online gamblers and online problematic gamblers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michela Ghelfi
- Psychology Department, Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca, Piazza dell Ateneo Nuovo 1, 20126, Milan, Italy.
| | - Paola Scattola
- Società Cooperativa Sociale Piccolo Principe, 24061, Bergamo, Italy
| | - Gilberto Giudici
- Società Cooperativa Sociale Piccolo Principe, 24061, Bergamo, Italy
| | - Veronica Velasco
- Psychology Department, Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca, Piazza dell Ateneo Nuovo 1, 20126, Milan, Italy
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Ngetich R, Burleigh TL, Czakó A, Vékony T, Németh D, Demetrovics Z. Working memory performance in disordered gambling and gaming: A systematic review. Compr Psychiatry 2023; 126:152408. [PMID: 37573802 DOI: 10.1016/j.comppsych.2023.152408] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2023] [Revised: 06/21/2023] [Accepted: 07/21/2023] [Indexed: 08/15/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Converging evidence supports that gaming and gambling disorders are associated with executive dysfunction. The involvement of different components of executive functions (EF) in these forms of behavioural addiction is unclear. AIM In a systematic review, we aim to uncover the association between working memory (WM), a crucial component of EF, and disordered gaming and gambling. Note that, in the context of this review, gaming has been used synonymously with video gaming. METHODS Adhering to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA), we systematically searched for studies published from 2012 onwards. RESULTS The search yielded 6081 records after removing duplicates, from which 17 peer-reviewed journal articles were eligible for inclusion. The association between WM and problem or disordered gaming and gambling have been categorized separately to observe possible differences. Essentially, problem gaming or gambling, compared to disorder, presents lesser severity and clinical significance. The results demonstrate reduced auditory-verbal WM in individuals with gambling disorder. Decreased WM capacity was also associated with problem gambling, with a correlation between problem gambling severity and decreased WM capacity. Similarly, gaming disorder was associated with decreased WM. Specifically, gaming disorder patients had lower WM capacity than the healthy controls. CONCLUSION Working memory seems to be a significant predictor of gambling and gaming disorders. Therefore, holistic treatment approaches that incorporate cognitive techniques that could enhance working memory may significantly boost gambling and gaming disorders treatment success.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ronald Ngetich
- Centre of Excellence in Responsible Gaming, University of Gibraltar, Gibraltar, Gibraltar
| | - Tyrone L Burleigh
- Centre of Excellence in Responsible Gaming, University of Gibraltar, Gibraltar, Gibraltar
| | - Andrea Czakó
- Centre of Excellence in Responsible Gaming, University of Gibraltar, Gibraltar, Gibraltar; Institute of Psychology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Teodóra Vékony
- INSERM, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS, Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences de Lyon CRNL U1028 UMR5292, Bron, France
| | - Dezso Németh
- Institute of Psychology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary; INSERM, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS, Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences de Lyon CRNL U1028 UMR5292, Bron, France; Brain, Memory and Language Research Group, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience and Psychology, Research Centre for Natural Sciences, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Zsolt Demetrovics
- Centre of Excellence in Responsible Gaming, University of Gibraltar, Gibraltar, Gibraltar; Institute of Psychology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary.
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Hurel E, Grall-Bronnec M, Thiabaud E, Leboucher J, Leroy M, Perrot B, Challet-Bouju G. Spatial attention to social information in poker: A neuropsychological study using the Posner cueing paradigm. J Behav Addict 2023; 12:219-229. [PMID: 36592330 DOI: 10.1556/2006.2022.00082] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2022] [Revised: 08/01/2022] [Accepted: 11/03/2022] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS This research aimed to characterize social information processing abilities in a population of regular nondisordered poker players compared to controls. METHODS Participants completed the Posner cueing paradigm task including social cues (faces) to assess attention allocation towards social stimuli, including the effect of the presentation time (subliminal vs supraliminal) and of the emotion displayed. The study included two groups of participants: 30 regular nondisordered poker players (those who played at least three times a week in Texas Hold'em poker games for at least three months) and 30 control participants (those who did not gamble or gambled less than once a month, whatever the game). RESULTS The group of regular nondisordered poker players displayed an enhancement of the inhibition of return during the Posner cueing task. This means that in valid trials, they took longer to respond to the already processed localization in supraliminal conditions compared to controls. However, our results did not evidence any particular engagement or disengagement attention abilities toward specific types of emotion. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that regular nondisordered poker players displayed social information processing abilities, which may be due to the importance to efficiently process social information that can serve as tells in live poker. The observed enhancement of the inhibition of return may permit poker players to not process a localization that has already processed to save attentional resources. Further research regarding the establishment of the IOR in other forms of gambling and with non-social cues needs to be performed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elodie Hurel
- 1CHU Nantes, UIC Psychiatrie et Santé Mentale, Nantes Université, F-44000 Nantes, France.,2CHU Nantes, INSERM, MethodS in Patient Centered Outcomes and HEalth ResEarch, SPHERE, Nantes Université, Univ Tours, F-44000 Nantes, France
| | - Marie Grall-Bronnec
- 1CHU Nantes, UIC Psychiatrie et Santé Mentale, Nantes Université, F-44000 Nantes, France.,2CHU Nantes, INSERM, MethodS in Patient Centered Outcomes and HEalth ResEarch, SPHERE, Nantes Université, Univ Tours, F-44000 Nantes, France
| | - Elsa Thiabaud
- 1CHU Nantes, UIC Psychiatrie et Santé Mentale, Nantes Université, F-44000 Nantes, France
| | - Juliette Leboucher
- 1CHU Nantes, UIC Psychiatrie et Santé Mentale, Nantes Université, F-44000 Nantes, France
| | - Maxime Leroy
- 3Department of Clinical Research and Innovation, CHU Nantes, Biostatistics and Methodology Unit, Nantes Université, F-44000 Nantes, France
| | - Bastien Perrot
- 2CHU Nantes, INSERM, MethodS in Patient Centered Outcomes and HEalth ResEarch, SPHERE, Nantes Université, Univ Tours, F-44000 Nantes, France.,3Department of Clinical Research and Innovation, CHU Nantes, Biostatistics and Methodology Unit, Nantes Université, F-44000 Nantes, France
| | - Gaëlle Challet-Bouju
- 1CHU Nantes, UIC Psychiatrie et Santé Mentale, Nantes Université, F-44000 Nantes, France.,2CHU Nantes, INSERM, MethodS in Patient Centered Outcomes and HEalth ResEarch, SPHERE, Nantes Université, Univ Tours, F-44000 Nantes, France
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Cognitive Factors that Predict Gambling Fallacy Endorsement. J Gambl Stud 2022; 39:843-855. [PMID: 36565358 DOI: 10.1007/s10899-022-10177-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/26/2022] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Gambling fallacies are a collection of error-stricken beliefs about gambling and how gambling works. Gambling fallacies, while common in the general public, appear to increase as a function of gambling severity. This being the case, many interventions have focused on reducing gambling fallacies as a means of treating problem-gambling. Less research, however, has investigated what factors contributes to gambling fallacy susceptibility in the first place. Available studies have identified associations between gambling fallacy susceptibility and isolated individual differences in, for example, statistical reasoning/understanding, intelligence, or cognitive ability. The current study aimed to assess these cognitive factors in conjunction, and their relative predictive potential for gambling fallacy susceptibility. In an Australian university student sample (n = 90) it was found that there were moderate to strong association between gambling fallacy endorsement and general intelligence, probabilistic reasoning ability, rational cognitive style and the ability to suppress intuitive thought, however, only probabilistic reasoning, rational cognitive style and the ability to suppress intuitive thinking contributed to the prediction of fallacy endorsement. Importantly, each of these factors are malleable. Interventions for the correction of gambling-specific fallacious beliefs should focus on these factors.
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Abstract
Abstract
Purpose of Review
The aim of this article was to review current research regarding social cognition (SC) in gambling disorder (GD), to (i) compile and synthetize the current state of existing literature on this topic, and (ii) propose cognitive remediation therapy approaches focused on SC for clinicians.
Recent Findings
It is well known that disordered gamblers show impairment regarding non-social cognitive functions such as inhibition, attention, and decision-making. Furthermore, patients with substance use disorders also present certain deficits regarding social information processing which are difficult to differentiate from the intrinsic toxic effects linked to drugs or alcohol consumption.
Summary
To date, relatively little research has been undertaken to explore SC in gambling disorder (GD) with neuropsychological tasks. Preliminary results suggest impaired non-verbal emotion processing, but only one study has directly measured SC in GD. As a consequence, future research on this framework should propose diverse measures of SC, while controlling for other factors such as personality traits and subtypes of disordered gamblers.
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