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Are Gambling Related Cognitions in Adolescence Multidimensional?: Factor Structure of the Gambling Related Cognitions Scale

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Abstract

The present study examined the factor structure of the Gambling Related Cognitions Scale (GRCS); (Raylu and Oei in Addiction 99:757–769, 2004) in a large sample of adolescents (N = 1,490) between the ages of 16 and 18 years (630 males, 860 females) attending several high schools in central Ontario. Problem gambling was measured using the DSM-IV-J (Fisher in J Gambl Stud 8:263–285, 1992). A 5-factor GRCS model was found to have the best fit to the data, and gambling-related cognitions were found to be powerful predictors of disordered gambling among adolescents. However, strong associations among GRCS subscales, as well as the small amount of variance in problem gambling accounted for by specific GRCS subscales, call into question the multidimensionality of the GRCS when used with adolescents.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by a research grant to the second and fifth authors from the Ontario Problem Gambling Research Centre (OPGRC), as well as a graduate scholarship from OPGRC to the first author, and an Ontario Graduate Scholarship to the fourth author.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Family Relations and Applied Nutrition, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada

    Robyn N. Taylor

  2. Department of Psychology, Trent University, Peterborough, ON, K9J 7B8, Canada

    James D. A. Parker, Kateryna V. Keefer, Patricia H. Kloosterman & Laura J. Summerfeldt

  3. Department of Psychology, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON, Canada

    Kateryna V. Keefer & Patricia H. Kloosterman

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  1. Robyn N. Taylor
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  2. James D. A. Parker
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  3. Kateryna V. Keefer
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  4. Patricia H. Kloosterman
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  5. Laura J. Summerfeldt
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Correspondence to James D. A. Parker.

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Taylor, R.N., Parker, J.D.A., Keefer, K.V. et al. Are Gambling Related Cognitions in Adolescence Multidimensional?: Factor Structure of the Gambling Related Cognitions Scale. J Gambl Stud 30, 453–465 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-013-9368-7

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