ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Symptoms of depression are highly prevalent among individuals with gambling disorder, and severity of depression is associated with severity of gambling problem. Yet, little is known about the psychological mechanisms by which symptoms of depression lead to greater gambling severity. In this study, we tested whether cognitive distortions represent one such mechanism, as cognitive distortions are key characteristics in both depression and gambling disorder and have been shown to be associated with gambling severity. METHODS: A mediation model was tested among 345 treatment-seeking individuals with gambling disorder in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The diagnosis of gambling disorder was made using semi-structured clinical interviews and participants completed psychometrically sound self-report measures of depression symptoms (Beck Depression Inventory-I), gambling-related cognitive distortions (Gamblers' Beliefs Questionnaire), and gambling severity (Gambling Symptom Assessment Scale). RESULTS: As hypothesized, increased symptoms of depression were significantly associated with both increased disordered gambling severity and increased gambling-related cognitive distortions. Further, gambling-related cognitive distortions predicted greater disordered gambling severity when controlling for depression symptomology. Results from the bootstrapping method indicated that the relationship between symptoms of depression and increased disordered gambling severity is mediated by gambling-related cognitive distortions. CONCLUSIONS: Consistent with our predictions, gambling-related cognitive distortions mediated the relationship between depression symptoms and gambling severity among a sample of treatment-seeking disordered gamblers. These results suggest that cognitive distortions may be a key intervention target for the treatment of concurrent depression and gambling disorder.
Subject(s)
Cognitive Dissonance , Depressive Disorder/epidemiology , Depressive Disorder/psychology , Gambling/epidemiology , Gambling/psychology , Adult , Aged , Brazil/epidemiology , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Psychiatric Status Rating Scales , Psychometrics , Severity of Illness Index , Surveys and Questionnaires , Young AdultABSTRACT
Este estudio se propuso evaluar las propiedades psicométricas, validez de constructo y consistencia interna, de la Escala de Evitación Cognitivo-Conductual (CBAS), propuesta originalmente en inglés por Ottenbreit y Dobson (2004). Además pretendía indagar si se confirmaba el modelo estructural hallado por estos autores. 340 estudiantes de ambos sexos (60 hombres y 280 mujeres) de una universidad pública mexicana completaron la CBAS, la Escala de Respuesta de Rumia y al Inventario de Depresión de Beck. Mediante análisis confirmatorio, se confirmó el modelo de afrontamiento de evitación encontrado en estudiantes canadienses con una estructura de cuatro factores relacionados: Conductual/social (CondS), Conductual/no social (CondNS), Cognitivo/social (CogS) y Cognitivo/no social (CogNS), que ajustó satisfactoriamente. Los datos sugieren también la validez de constructo y consistencia interna de la CBAS.
The aim of the present study was to evaluate the psychometric properties, construct validity and internal consistency, of the Spanish version of the Cognitive-Behavioral Avoidance Scale (CBAS), proposed originally in English by Ottenbreit and Dobson (2004). Also, it intended to test if the structural model found by these authors was confirmed. 340 students of a Mexican public university, 60 men and 280 women, completed the CBAS, the Ruminative Response Scale and the Beck Depression Inventory. Using confirmatory factor analysis, the avoidance coping model originally found in Canadian students fit the data, coinciding with the structure of 4 correlated factors: Behavioral Social, Behavioral Nonsocial, Cognitive Social and Cognitive Nonsocial. Construct validity and acceptable internal consistency of the CBAS were also demonstrated.