Top

Published in:

01-12-2015 | Original Paper

Motivational Profiles of Gambling Behavior: Self-determination Theory, Gambling Motives, and Gambling Behavior

Authors: Lindsey M. Rodriguez, Clayton Neighbors, Dipali V. Rinker, Jennifer L. Tackett

Published in: Journal of Gambling Studies | Issue 4/2015

Abstract

Gambling among young adults occurs at a higher rate than in the general population and is associated with a host of negative consequences. Self-determination theory (SDT) posits that individuals develop general motivational orientations which predict a range of behavioral outcomes. An autonomy orientation portrays a choiceful perspective facilitating personal growth, whereas a controlled orientation represents a chronic proclivity toward external pressures and a general lack of choice. Further, an impersonal orientation is characterized by alack of intention and feeling despondent and ineffective. Controlled orientation has previously been associated with more frequent and problematic gambling. This research was designed to examine gambling motives as mediators of associations between motivational orientations and gambling behaviors. Undergraduates (N = 252) who met 2+ criteria on the South Oaks Gambling Screen participated in a laboratory survey assessing their motivational orientations, gambling motives, and gambling behavior (quantity, frequency, and problems). Mediation analyses suggested that autonomy was negatively associated with gambling problems through lower levels of chasing and escape motives. Further, controlled orientation was associated with more problems through higher levels of chasing and interest motives. Finally, impersonal orientation was negatively associated with amount won through escape motives. Overall, results support exploring gambling behavior and motives using a SDT framework.

Arnett, J. J. (2000). Emerging adulthood: A theory of development from the late teens through the twenties. American Psychologist, 55(5), 469–480. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.55.5.469.CrossRefPubMed

Atkins, D. C., & Gallop, R. J. (2007). Rethinking how family researchers model infrequent outcomes: A tutorial on count regression and zero-inflated models. Journal of Family Psychology, 21(4), 726–735.CrossRefPubMed

Barnes, G. M., Welte, J. W., Hoffman, J. H., & Tidwell, M. O. (2010). Comparisons of gambling and alcohol use among college students and non college young people in the United States. Journal of American College Health, 58(5), 443–452.PubMedCentralCrossRefPubMed

Bland, R. C., Newman, S. C., Orn, H., & Stebelsky, G. (1993). Epidemiology of pathological gambling in Edmonton. The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry/La Revue canadienne de psychiatrie, 38(2), 108–112.

Chantal, Y., & Vallerand, R. J. (1996). Skill versus luck: A motivational analysis of gambling involvement. Journal of Gambling Studies, 12(4), 407–418. doi:10.1007/BF01539185.CrossRefPubMed

Chantal, Y., Vallerand, R. J., & Vallières, E. F. (1995). Motivation and gambling involvement. Journal of Social Psychology, 135(6), 755–763.CrossRefPubMed

Cohen, J. (1992). A power primer. Psychological Bulletin, 112(1), 155–159.CrossRefPubMed

Cooper, M. L., Frone, M. R., Russell, M., & Mudar, P. (1995). Drinking to regulate positive and negative emotions: A motivational model of alcohol use. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69, 990–1005. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.69.5.990.CrossRefPubMed

Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1985a). Intrinsic motivation and self- determination in human behavior. New York, NY: Plenum.CrossRef

Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1985b). The general causality orientations scale: Self-determination in personality. Journal of Research in Personality, 19, 109–134. doi:10.1016/0092-6566(85)90023-6.CrossRef

Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2000). The “what” and “why” of goal pursuits: Human needs and the self-determination of behavior. Psychological Inquiry, 11, 227–268.CrossRef

Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2002). Handbook of self-determination research. Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press.

Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2008). A macrotheory of human motivation, development and health. Canadian Psychology, 49, 182–185. doi:10.1037/a0012801.CrossRef

Gerstein, D. R., Volberg, R. A., Toce, M. T., Harwood, H., Johnson, R. A., & Buie, T. (1999). Gambling impact and behavior study: Report to the national gambling impact study commission. Chicago, IL: NORC.

Gupta, R., & Derevensky, J. L. (2000). Adolescents with gambling problems: From research to treatment. Journal of Gambling Studies/Co-Sponsored by The National Council on Problem Gambling and Institute for the Study of Gambling and Commercial Gaming, 16(2–3), 315–342.

Hayes, A. F. (2013). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis. New York, NY: Guilford.

Hilbe, J. M. (2011). Negative binomial regression (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.CrossRef

Hodgins, H. S., Koestner, R., & Duncan, N. (1996). On the compatibility of autonomy and relatedness. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 22(3), 227–237. doi:10.1177/0146167296223001.CrossRef

Huang, J., Jacobs, D. F., & Derevensky, J. L. (2011). DSM-based problem gambling: Increasing the odds of heavy drinking in a national sample of U.S. college athletes? Journal of Psychiatric Research, 45(3), 302–308. doi:10.1016/j.jpsychires.2010.07.001.CrossRefPubMed

Knee, C. R., & Zuckerman, M. (1998). A nondefensive personality: Autonomy and control as moderators of defensive coping and self-handicapping. Journal of Research in Personality, 32(2), 115–130. doi:10.1006/jrpe.1997.2207.CrossRef

Lambe, L., Mackinnon, S. P., & Stewart, S. H. (2014). Validation of the gambling motives questionnaire in emerging adults. Journal of Gambling Studies, 1–19. doi:10.1007/s10899-014-9467-0.

Larimer, M. E., Neighbors, C., Lostutter, T. W., Whiteside, U., Cronce, J. M., Kaysen, D., et al. (2012). Brief motivational feedback and cognitive behavioral interventions for prevention of disordered gambling: A randomized clinical trial. Addiction, 107(6), 1148–1158. doi:10.1111/j.1360-0443.2011.03776.x.PubMedCentralCrossRefPubMed

Lesieur, H. R., & Blume, S. B. (1987). The south oaks gambling screen (SOGS): A new instrument for the identification of pathological gamblers. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 144(9), 1184–1188.CrossRefPubMed

Lesieur, Henry R., Cross, J., Frank, M., Welch, M., White, C. M., Rubenstein, G., et al. (1991). Gambling and pathological gambling among university students. Addictive Behaviors, 16(6), 517–527. doi:10.1016/0306-4603(91)90059-Q.CrossRefPubMed

Martin, R. J., Usdan, S., Cremeens, J., & Vail-Smith, K. (2014). Disordered gambling and co-morbidity of psychiatric disorders among college students: An examination of problem drinking, anxiety and depression. Journal of Gambling Studies, 30(2), 321-333. doi:10.1007/s10899-013-9367-8.

McGrath, D. S., Stewart, S. H., Klein, R. M., & Barrett, S. P. (2010). Self-generated motives for gambling in two population-based samples of gamblers. International Gambling Studies, 10(2), 117–138. doi:10.1080/14459795.2010.499915.CrossRef

Neighbors, C., & Larimer, M. E. (2004). Self-determination and problem gambling among college students. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 23(4), 565–583.CrossRef

Neighbors, C., Larimer, M. E., Geisner, I. M., & Knee, C. R. (2004). Feeling controlled and drinking motives among college students: Contingent self-esteem as a mediator. Self and Identity, 3(3), 207–224. doi:10.1080/13576500444000029.CrossRef

Neighbors, C., Lewis, M. A., Fossos, N., & Grossbard, J. R. (2007). Motivation and risk behaviors: A self-determination perspective. In L. V. Brown (Ed.), Psychology of motivation (pp. 99–113). Hauppauge, NY: Nova Science Publishers.

Neighbors, C., Lostutter, T. W., Cronce, J. M., & Larimer, M. E. (2002a). Exploring college student gambling motivation. Journal of Gambling Studies, 18(4), 361.PubMedCentralCrossRefPubMed

Neighbors, C., Lostutter, T. W., Larimer, M. E., & Takushi, R. Y. (2002b). Measuring gambling outcomes among college students. Journal of Gambling Studies, 18(4), 339.PubMedCentralCrossRefPubMed

Neighbors, C., Rodriguez, L. M., Rinker, D. V., Gonzales, R., Agana, M., Tackett, J. L., & Foster, D. W. (under review). Efficacy of personalized normative feedback as a brief intervention for college student gambling: A randomized controlled trial. Submitted for publication at Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology.

Neighbors, C., Walker, D. D., & Larimer, M. E. (2003). expectancies and evaluations of alcohol effects among college students: Self-determination as a moderator. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 64(2), 292–300.CrossRefPubMed

Ng, J. Y., Ntoumanis, N., Thøgersen-Ntoumani, C., Deci, E. L., Ryan, R. M., Duda, J. L., et al. (2012). Self-determination theory applied to health contexts: A meta-analysis. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 7(4), 325–340. doi:10.1177/1745691612447309.CrossRefPubMed

Nowak, D. E., & Aloe, A. M. (2013). The prevalence of pathological gambling among college students: A meta-analytic synthesis, 2005–2013. Journal of Gambling Studies, 1-25. doi:10.1007/s10899-013-9399-0.

Raudenbush, S. W., & Bryk, A. S. (2002). Hierarchical linear models: Applications and data analysis methods (2nd ed.). United States of America: Sage Publications.

Rosenthal, R. J., & Lorenz, V. C. (1992). The pathological gambler as criminal offender. Comments on evaluation and treatment. The Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 15(3), 647–660.PubMed

Rosenthal, R., & Rosnow, R. L. (1991). Essentials of behavioral research: Methods and data analysis (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw Hill.

Rotter, J. B. (1966). Generalized expectancies for internal versus external control of reinforcement. Psychological Monographs, 80(1), 1–28.CrossRefPubMed

Ryan, R. M., Deci, E. L., & Grolnick, W. S. (1995). Autonomy, relatedness, and the self: Their relation to development and psychopathology. In D. Cicchetti & D. J. Cohen (Eds.), Developmental psychopathology (Vol. 1, pp. 618–655)., Theory and methods Oxford England: John Wiley & Sons.

Shaffer, H. J., Hall, M. N., & Van der Bilt, J. (1999). Estimating the prevalence of disordered gambling behavior in the United States and Canada: A research synthesis. American Journal of Public Health, 89(9), 1369–1376.PubMedCentralCrossRefPubMed

Sheldon, K. M., Ryan, R. M., Rawsthorne, L. J., & Ilardi, B. (1997). Trait self and true self: Cross-role variation in the Big-Five personality traits and its relations with psychological authenticity and subjective well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 73(6), 1380–1393. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.73.6.1380.CrossRef

Simoneau, H., & Bergeron, J. (2003). Factors affecting motivation during the first six weeks of treatment. Addictive Behaviors, 28(7), 1219–1241. doi:10.1016/S0306-4603(02)00257-5.CrossRefPubMed

Soenens, B., Berzonsky, M. D., Vansteenkiste, M., Beyers, W., & Goossens, L. (2005). Identity styles and causality orientations: In search of the motivational underpinnings of the identity exploration process. European Journal of Personality, 19(5), 427–442. doi:10.1002/per.551.CrossRef

Stewart, S. H., & Zack, M. (2008). Development and psychometric evaluation of a three-dimensional gambling motives questionnaire. Addiction, 103(7), 1110–1117. doi:10.1111/j.1360-0443.2008.02235.x.CrossRefPubMed

Stewart, S. H., Zack, M., Collins, P., Klein, R. M., & Fragopoulos, F. (2008). Subtyping pathological gamblers on the basis of affective motivations for gambling: Relations to gambling problems, drinking problems, and affective motivations for drinking. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 22(2), 257–268. doi:10.1037/0893-164X.22.2.257.CrossRefPubMed

Stuart, S., Stewart, S. H., Wall, A. M., & Katz, J. (2008). Gambling among university undergraduate students: An investigation of gambler subtypes varying in affective motivations for gambling. In M. J. Esposito (Ed.), Psychology of gambling (pp. 83–110). Hauppauge, NY: Nova Biomedical Books.

Thompson, W. N., Gazel, R., & Rickman, D. (1996). The social costs of gambling in Wisconsin. Wisconsin Policy Research Institute Report, 9, 1–44.

Wallston, K. A. (2001). Control beliefs. In N. Smelser & P. Baltes (Eds.), International encyclopedia of the social and behavioral sciences (pp. 2724–2726). Oxford, England: Elsevier Science.CrossRef

Weatherly, J. N., & Miller, K. B. (2013). Exploring the factors related to endorsing gambling as an escape. International Gambling Studies, 13, 52–64.CrossRef

Welte, J. W., Barnes, G. M., Tidwell, M. C. O., & Hoffman, J. H. (2009). The association of form of gambling with problem gambling among American youth. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 23, 105-112. doi:10.1037/a0013536.

Williams, G. C., Cox, E. M., Hedberg, V. A., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Extrinsic life goals and health-risk behaviors in adolescents. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 30(8), 1756–1771.CrossRef

Title: Motivational Profiles of Gambling Behavior: Self-determination Theory, Gambling Motives, and Gambling Behavior
Authors: Lindsey M. Rodriguez
Clayton Neighbors
Dipali V. Rinker
Jennifer L. Tackett
Publication date: 01-12-2015
Publisher: Springer US
Published in: Journal of Gambling Studies / Issue 4/2015
Electronic ISSN: 1573-3602
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-014-9497-7

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

Springer Medicine

Motivational Profiles of Gambling Behavior: Self-determination Theory, Gambling Motives, and Gambling Behavior

Abstract

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

Springer Medicine

Abstract

Please log in to get access to this content

Other articles of this Issue 4/2015

The Relationship Between Gambling and Homelessness: A Commentary on Sharman et al. (2014)

A Longitudinal Examination of Depression Among Gambling Inpatients

Reciprocal Longitudinal Associations Between Adolescent Twin Gambling and Delinquency

Problem Gambling: One for the Money…?

Clinical Profile and Psychiatric Comorbidity of Treatment-Seeking Individuals with Pathological Gambling in South-Africa

The Role of Anxiety and Dissociation in Young Australian Gamblers