Impaired Self-control of Gambling

In Dickerson & Baron (2000) the suggestion was made that research examining problem gambling might be simplified if the preferred dependent variable was impaired self-control rather than the heterogeneous consequences that comprise the diagnostic criteria of pathological gambling (APA, 1994). The proposal was derived from the arguments of Heather et al. (1993) concerning alcoholism: impaired control as the essential construct in the psychological conceptualisation of addiction. Impaired self-control of gambling was defined as an inability to consistently maintain preferred limits to expenditure of time and money on gambling. From the evidence and arguments presented in the previous chapters, the following conclusions may be drawn.

Measurement

The most consistent findings have been demonstrated by the measurement of impaired self-control of gambling: the fundamental work of Kyngdon (2003) providing evidence for a continuous quantitative dimension (from effortless self-control to an inability to impose control over their gambling behaviour), and the use of a traditional psychometric approach (Scale of Gambling Choices (SGC), Baron et al., 1995) in a number of studies demonstrated acceptable reliability, validity and factorial coherence (particularly for the 12-item version: O'Connor & Dickerson, 2003; Kyngdon, 2004).

In several studies of large independent samples of regular gamblers (i.e. gambling sessions once per week or more) impaired self-control of gambling has been shown to be a very common experience (e.g. 43% “sometimes”, “often” or “always” experience an irresistible urge to continue a session; O'Connor & Dickerson, 2003).