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Adverse Childhood Experiences and Disordered Gambling: Assessing the Mediating Role of Emotion Dysregulation

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Abstract

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), such as sexual and physical abuse, have been established as risk factors for the development of disordered gambling. The underlying mechanism by which ACEs influence disordered gambling, however, remains unknown. The aims of the present research were to comprehensively investigate ten types of childhood adversity and their relationships to disordered gambling in adulthood, and to test whether emotion dysregulation mediated the relationship between ACEs and disordered gambling. A sample of community gamblers (N = 414) completed self-report measures of ACEs, emotion dysregulation, and gambling severity. Results revealed a significant association between all but one type (physical abuse) of ACEs and disordered gambling. Further, the results highlighted the cumulative impact of ACEs on gambling. Specifically, individuals who experienced three or more types of ACEs were more than three times as likely to report disordered gambling as compared to individuals with no history of childhood adversity. Importantly, as hypothesized, emotion dysregulation mediated the relationship between ACEs and disordered gambling. Findings from this research describe the association between ACEs and gambling and indicate a causal link between childhood adversity and disordered gambling. Results suggest that treatment initiatives may do well to address both ACEs and emotion dysregulation in the treatment of problem gambling.

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Notes

  1. In addition to the principal examination of emotion regulation as a mediator of the relationship between ACEs and gambling severity, exploratory analyses of other variables were conducted as potential mediators, including resilience and impulsivity. Details of these analyses are available on request.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive, NW, Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4, Canada

    Julia C. Poole

  2. Addictive Behaviours Laboratory, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive, NW, Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4, Canada

    Hyoun S. Kim & David C. Hodgins

  3. Depression Research Laboratory, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive, NW, Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4, Canada

    Julia C. Poole & Keith S. Dobson

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  1. Julia C. Poole
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  2. Hyoun S. Kim
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  3. Keith S. Dobson
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  4. David C. Hodgins
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Correspondence to Julia C. Poole.

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Conflict of interest

This research was supported in part by an Alberta Gambling Research Institute (AGRI) award to Hodgins (#61). Dobson has served on the Board of Directors to AGRI, Hodgin’s salary is supported in part by AGRI, and Kim has received a doctoral scholarship from AGRI. Poole declares no conflict of interest.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. This research did not involve animal participants.

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Poole, J.C., Kim, H.S., Dobson, K.S. et al. Adverse Childhood Experiences and Disordered Gambling: Assessing the Mediating Role of Emotion Dysregulation. J Gambl Stud 33, 1187–1200 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-017-9680-8

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