Gender Invariance of the Gambling Behavior Scale for Adolescents (GBS-A): An Analysis of Differential Item Functioning Using Item Response Theory

How can we measure gambling craving among adolescent gamblers? Psychometric properties of the Gambling Craving Scale

BACKGROUND

Craving plays an important role in behavioural addictions such as Gambling Disorder (GD). However, it has only been included as a diagnostic criterion for substance addiction. Moreover, research on craving has focused mainly on adults, leaving out adolescents who can also be heavily involved in gambling behaviour. The purpose of this study was to investigate the psychometric properties of the most widely used craving assessment scale, the Gambling Craving Scale (GACS), in adolescent gamblers.

METHOD

For the current study, 1246 adolescent gamblers attending secondary school were recruited to complete a self-report questionnaire online. The psychometric properties of the GACS were examined: Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted; reliability was examined using the internal consistency method; in terms of validity, the relationship between the GACS total and subscale scores with some risk factors for problem gambling, gambling frequency and gambling problem severity was analyzed.

RESULTS

The factor analysis supported the three-factor structure, and good internal consistency was found for the GACS total scale and its three subscales. As regards validity, the GACS subscales resulted to be significantly and positively associated with economic perception of gambling and outcome expectancy, gambling-related cognitive distortions, gambling frequency, and problem gambling.

LIMITATIONS

The findings of this study were based on self-report data and only criterion validity was analyzed.

CONCLUSIONS

The GACS is a valid and rapid self-report measure of gambling craving in adolescent gamblers. In terms of prevention, the multidimensionality of the GACS is important for interventions. Clinical samples of adolescents are needed to confirm the validity of the scale.

Parental gambling frequency and adolescent gambling: A cross-sectional path model involving adolescents and parents

INTRODUCTION

Nowadays, most of the research studies in the field of adolescent gambling are focused on individual factors related to problem gambling. The aim of this study was to test an integrated model to explain adolescent problem gambling involving both individual (i.e., correct gambling knowledge, superstitious thinking, and gambling-related cognitive distortions) and environmental factors (i.e., parental gambling frequency). In detail, the aim was to better understand the role of parental gambling behavior on adolescents' gambling frequency and problem gambling severity, to draw indications for prevention.

METHODS

Participants were 680 parents (36% men; Mage = 48.32, SD = 6.14 years) of 680 high school students (51% boys; Mage = 15.51, SD = .55 years) attending the second year of different high schools in Tuscany (Italy). Data collection occurred within the school prevention program PRIZE (Prevention of gambling risk among adolescents).

RESULTS

A path model showed was conducted to detect direct and indirect effects from individual and environmental factors to gambling problem severity. Analyses showed that correct gambling knowledge and superstitious thinking were directly related-respectively in a negative and a positive direction-both to gambling-related cognitive distortions and adolescents' gambling frequency. Parental gambling frequency was directly associated with adolescents' gambling frequency. Correct gambling knowledge and superstitious thinking were indirectly related to adolescents' gambling problem severity through the mediational role of gambling-related cognitive distortions and gambling frequency. Parental gambling frequency was indirectly linked to gambling problem severity by passing through adolescents' gambling frequency.

CONCLUSIONS

The current cross-sectional results confirm that parental gambling behavior has an important role for adolescents' gambling behavior and severity. Thus, results highlight the need for innovative prevention programs which involve adolescents' adult reference figures and integrate the individual risk and protective factors with the environmental ones.

Loot boxes use, video gaming, and gambling in adolescents: Results from a path analysis before and during COVID-19-pandemic-related lockdown in Italy

Loot Boxes (LBs), i.e., virtual items embedded within video games with numerous features reminiscent of gambling, are increasingly widespread among adolescents. LB use is associated with problem gambling in youth, but few studies have been conducted on the association between LB use and gambling behavior considering adolescents. Thus, the mechanisms underlying this relationship are not clear. As LB use is a significant and positive risk factor for video gaming severity, and video gaming is associated with problem gambling, we hypothesized that LB use would be related to gambling frequency and problem gambling through the intermediary role of video gaming frequency and problem video gaming. We tested our hypothesis before COVID-19-pandemic-related lockdown and during COVID-19-pandemic-related lockdown, in Italy. Study 1 was conducted with 1,078 high school students (39% boys, mean age = 16.46, SD = 1.28) before COVID-19-pandemic-related lockdown, and Study 2 was conducted with 1,204 high school students (57% boys, mean age = 15.62, SD = 0.64) during COVID-19-pandemic-related lockdown. A path analysis was carried out to analyze the significance of indirect effects from LB use to gambling behavior and problem gambling through video gaming and problem video gaming. In both the studies, results showed that LB use exerted significant and positive direct effects on video gaming frequency, problem video gaming, and gambling frequency. Moreover, LB use had indirect significant and positive effects on problem gambling through video gaming frequency, problem video gaming, and gambling frequency. Findings attest that LB use can be related to problem gambling through a greater involvement in videogames. Thus, a specific subtype of young gamblers can develop Gambling Disorder symptoms from the use of LBs and through an intense use of video games. Practical implications for prevention and treatment are discussed.

Psychometric properties of the short UPPS-P scale in adolescents: Gender, age invariance, and validity among italian youth

Impulsivity is a multifaceted construct associated with poor planning skills, difficulty in maintaining attention, and behavioral disinhibition-especially in conditions of highly activated affective states. Impulsivity plays a prominent role in adolescents, in whom high levels of impulsivity expose them to a greater risk of exhibiting risky behaviors or developing pathological conditions. Currently, one of the most popular frameworks to explain and assess impulsivity is the UPPS-P, which distinguishes between five impulsivity components, and from which the UPPS-P Scale and its short form are derived. In light of the relatively low number of psychometric analyses of the scale in adolescents, this study aimed to verify the psychometric properties of the Short UPPS-P Scale among Italian adolescents. The participants were 647 adolescents (68% males, mean age = 16.9, SD = 1.1 years). Confirmatory factor analysis supported the five-factor model of the scale, which was found to be invariant across gender and age and to have had good internal consistency values. Gender and age differences were also investigated. Evidence for validity was provided by supporting relationships between specific UPPS dimensions, gambling frequency, problem gambling, and problematic use of social networks. Overall, the findings showed that the Short UPPS-P Scale is a promising instrument to assess the multidimensional construct of impulsivity in adolescents in both research and clinical practice.

Measuring Gambling Outcome Expectancies in Adolescents: Testing the Psychometric Properties of a Modified Version of the Gambling Expectancy Questionnaire

The Gambling Expectancy Questionnaire (GEQ; Gillespie et al. 2007a) is a 23-item scale assessing three positive outcome expectancies (Enjoyment/Arousal, Money, Self-Enhancement) and two negative outcome expectancies (Over-Involvement, Emotional Impact) related to gambling. It is the most used instrument to assess gambling outcome expectancies in adolescents and it has good psychometric properties. To allow a greater and more useful application of the scale, the present study aimed to modify the GEQ to make it usable with all adolescents, regardless of their gambling behaviour and to verify its psychometric properties. To that aim, the items were modified and the response scale was reduced from a seven-point to a five-point Likert scale. To verify the adequacy of the modified scale, two studies were conducted among Italian adolescents. In the first study (n = 501, 75% males, Mage = 16.74, SD = .88), after having removed four items and relocating another through explorative factor analysis, the original five-factor structure of the scale was confirmed by applying a confirmatory factor analysis. Reliability and validity evidence were also provided. The second study (n = 1894, 61% males, Mage = 15.68, SD = .71) attested its invariance across gambling behaviour status and gender. The modified version of the GEQ (GEQ - MOD) can be profitably used for research and preventive purposes with youth.

An Item Response Theory-Based Scoring of the South Oaks Gambling Screen-Revised Adolescents

The South Oaks Gambling Screen-Revised Adolescent (SOGS-RA) is one of the most widely used screening tools for problem gambling among adolescents. In this study, item response theory was used for computing measures of problem gambling severity that took into account how much information the endorsed items provided about the presence of problem gambling. A zero-inflated mixture two-parameter logistic model was estimated on the responses of 4,404 adolescents to the South Oaks Gambling Screen-Revised Adolescent to compute the difficulty and discrimination of each item, and the problem gambling severity level (θ score) of each respondent. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was used to identify the cutoff on the θ scores that best distinguished daily and nondaily gamblers. This cutoff outperformed the common cutoff defined on the sum scores in identifying daily gamblers but fell behind it in identifying nondaily gamblers. When screening adolescents to be subjected to further investigations, the cutoff on the θ scores must be preferred to that on the sum scores.

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

Historically, 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 domain-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 296 Italian adolescents (68% boys, M_age = 17.76, SD = 1.17). Participants completed the risk-taking, risk perception, and expected benefits scales from the Adolescent Domain Specific Risk Taking (DOSPERT) scale (Barkley-Levenson et al. in Dev Cognitive Neurosci 3: 72-83, 2013), as well as the Gambling 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 risk-taking scores, whereas greater perceived expected benefits were associated with higher risk-taking scores. Moreover, we found significant indirect effects between perceived risks and benefits and problem-gambling severity, mediated via Gambling risk-taking scores, though expected benefits demonstrated a stronger indirect effect. These results have important implications for practice as they emphasize that specific interventions aimed at preventing problem gambling in adolescents should address their perceptions about gambling benefits.

The Effectiveness of the Game of Dice Task in Predicting At-Risk and Problem Gambling Among Adolescents: The Contribution of the Neural Networks

The Game of Dice Task (GDT; Brand et al. in Neuropsychology 19:267-277, 2005a; Psychiatry Res 133:91-99, 2005b) measures decision-making under objective risk conditions. Although disadvantageous decision-making has been shown in individuals with substance dependency, such as pathological dependency, any studies have been conducted with adolescents by using the GDT to investigate the relationship between the performance on the task and gambling behavior. Moreover, all the previous studies have considered only the GDT net score and not the single choices. In the current study, focusing on adolescents, we wanted to investigate the relationship between the sequence of the choices at the GDT and gambling behavior, measured with the SOGS-RA. To analyze the predictive power of the sequence of choices made in the GDT and problem gambling and gambling frequency, we used the Neural Networks (NNs), which are often used to find relationships between a series of input actions and the correspondent empirical outputs in order to discover behavioral patterns that may be predictive of at-risk behaviors. Results showed that neither a linear or a non-linear relationship could be detected between the GDT performance and the SOGS-RA classification both in terms of gambling problem severity and gambling frequency. Indeed, different training algorithms produced different performances of the NN on the training sets, but all of them showed a very low prediction capability on new samples. Thus, the performance at the GDT did not discriminate between adolescent gamblers with different and progressive levels of problematic gambling behavior and gambling frequency. Limitations and future studies are discussed.

Time Perspectives and Gambling in Adolescent Boys: Differential Effects of Present- and Future-Orientation

Adolescent boys are characterised by increased risk-taking behavior, including a relatively high propensity to develop problem gambling habits. The association between gambling and sensitivity to immediately available rewards is well-established, suggesting that gamblers are less influenced by potential future consequences than non-gamblers. Nevertheless, existing studies have considered present- and future-orientation as two ends of the same continuum, and have not investigated the possibility that present and future perspectives might make independent contributions to gambling behavior. In the current study, we adopted Zimbardo's multidimensional approach, which discriminates between not only present and future perspectives, but also between a hedonistic and fatalistic present-orientation (in addition to positive and negative orientations towards the past). The participants were 223 male adolescents (mean age = 16.7 years). We investigated the effects of time perspectives on gambling frequency and gambling problem severity, after taking into account the effects of age, sensation seeking, and gambling-related cognitive distortions. Gambling frequency was significantly predicted by the present fatalistic perspective, and problem gambling was significantly (negatively) related to the future perspective. The present hedonistic and past negative perspectives were also significantly related to both gambling frequency and gambling problems, although they did not explain additional variance in gambling behavior when the effects of the other factors were controlled. Overall, these results offer a fresh perspective on the role of time perspectives in gambling behavior, with potential implications for understanding the origins of gambling problems and the development of novel interventions.