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Self-reported impulsivity and inhibitory control in problem gamblers

journal contribution
posted on 2013-01-01, 00:00 authored by F Lorains, J Stout, J Bradshaw, Nicki DowlingNicki Dowling, Peter EnticottPeter Enticott
Impulsivity is considered a core feature of problem gambling, however, self-reported impulsivity and inhibitory control may reflect disparate constructs. We examined self-reported impulsivity and inhibitory control in 39 treatment-seeking problem gamblers and 41 matched controls using a range of self-report questionnaires and laboratory inhibitory control tasks. We also investigated differences between treatment-seeking problem gamblers who prefer strategic (e.g., sports-betting) and non-strategic (e.g., electronic gaming machines) gambling activities. Treatment-seeking problem gamblers demonstrated elevated self-reported impulsivity, more go errors on the Stop Signal Task and a lower gap score on the Random Number Generation task than matched controls. However, overall we did not find strong evidence that treatment-seeking problem gamblers are more impulsive on laboratory inhibitory control measures. Furthermore, strategic and non-strategic problem gamblers did not differ from their respective controls on either self-reported impulsivity questionnaires or laboratory inhibitory control measures. Contrary to expectations, our results suggest that inhibitory dyscontrol may not be a key component for some treatment-seeking problem gamblers.

History

Journal

Journal of clinical and experimental neuropsychology

Volume

36

Issue

2

Pagination

144 - 157

Publisher

Routledge

Location

Oxford, England

ISSN

1380-3395

eISSN

1744-411X

Language

eng

Publication classification

C1.1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal

Copyright notice

2014, Taylor & Francis