Attentional disengagement, craving, and mentalizing: a preliminary experimental study among older-aged male gamblers.

INTRODUCTION: Empirical studies have demonstrated the role that attentional bias, the mutual excitatory relationship between attentional bias and craving, and mentalizing play in problem gambling. Although problem gambling rates among older-aged adults have steadily increased in recent years, research studies among this cohort are scarce. The present study is the first to empirically investigate attentional bias, as well as the joint role of attentional bias, craving, and mentalizing among older-aged gamblers. METHOD: Thirty-six male older-aged gamblers were administered the South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS), the Gambling Craving Scale (GACS), and the Reflective Functioning Questionnaire (RFQ-8) to assess gambling severity, craving levels, and mentalizing, respectively. Participants also performed a modified Posner Task to investigate attentional biases. RESULTS: Hierarchical linear regression analysis showed that among older-aged male gamblers, GACS Anticipation and RFQ-8 Uncertainty about mental states, as well as disengagement bias at 100 ms, significantly predicted gambling severity. CONCLUSION: The present study provides the first empirical support for the role of attentional bias, craving, and mentalizing among older-aged gambling. More specifically, a difficult in disengaging attention away from gambling, the anticipation of pleasure deriving from gambling, and hypomentalizing predicted gambling severity among older-aged gamblers. The findings make an important contribution, by identifying the factors responsible for problem gambling among this specific age cohort and suggesting that timely interventions for mentalizing and attentional bias may be necessary to prevent problem gambling in old age.

Positive Illusions: The Role of Cognitive Distortions Related to Gambling and Temporal Perspective in Chasing Behavior.

Chasing, or continuing to gamble to recoup previous losses, is a behavioral marker and a diagnostic criterion for gambling disorder. Even though chasing has been recognized to play a central role in gambling disorder, research on chasing is still relatively scarce. This study first empirically investigated the interplay between cognitive distortions related to gambling, temporal perspective, and chasing behavior in a sample of habitual gamblers. Two hundred and fifty-five adults took part in the study. Participants completed the South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS), the Gambling Related Cognitions Scale (GRCS), the 14-item Consideration of Future Consequences scale (CFC-14), and performed a computerized task assessing chasing behavior. Participants were randomly assigned to three experimental conditions (Control, Loss, and Win). Hierarchical logistic regression analysis showed that the decision to chase depended on scores on the CFC-14 Immediate scale and the GRCS dimensions Gambling Expectancies and Interpretative Bias. Hierarchical linear regression analysis indicated that, chasing frequency was affected by Loss condition, distortions related to gambling expectancies and predictive control, as well as by myopia for the future. Interestingly, the results of path analysis clearly indicated that some cognitions related to gambling predict chasing frequency not only directly, but also indirectly via shortened time horizon. Notably, gambling severity did not predict either the decision to chase, or the chasing persistence. These findings provide further evidence that nonchasers and chasers seem to belong to two quite distinct subtypes of gamblers. Such a difference could be useful for targeting more effective intervention strategies in gambling disorder treatment.

Regret and Other Emotions Related to Decision-Making: Antecedents, Appraisals, and Phenomenological Aspects.

Objectives: The mainstream position on regret in psychological literature is that its necessary conditions are agency and responsibility, that is, to choose freely but badly. Without free choice, other emotions, such as disappointment, are deemed to be elicited when the outcome is worse than expected. In two experiments, we tested the opposite hypothesis that being forced by external circumstances to choose an option inconsistent with one's own intentions is an important source of regret and a core component of its phenomenology, regardless of the positivity/negativity of the post-decision outcome. Along with regret, four post-decision emotions - anger toward oneself, disappointment, anger toward circumstances, and satisfaction - were investigated to examine their analogies and differences to regret with regard to antecedents, appraisals, and phenomenological aspects. Methods: Through the scenario methodology, we manipulated three variables: choice (free/forced), outcome (positive/negative), and time (short/long time after decision-making). Moreover, we investigated whether responsibility, decision justifiability, and some phenomenological aspects (self-attribution, other attribution, and contentment) mediated the effect exerted by choice, singularly or in interaction with outcome and time, on the five emotions. Each study was conducted with 336 participants, aged 18-60. Results: The results of both studies were similar and supported our hypothesis. In particular, regret elicited by forced choice was always high, regardless of the valence of outcome, whereas free choice elicited regret was high only with a negative outcome. Moreover, regret was unaffected by responsibility and decision justifiability, whereas it was affected by the three phenomenological dimensions. Conclusion: Our results suggest that (1) the prevailing theory of regret is too binding, since it posits as necessary some requirements which are not; (2) the antecedents and phenomenology of regret are broader than it is generally believed; (3) decision-making produces a complex emotional constellation, where the different emotions, singularly and/or in combination, constitute the affective responses to the different aspects of decision-making.

Mentalizing Failures, Emotional Dysregulation, and Cognitive Distortions Among Adolescent Problem Gamblers.

Over the past decade, several studies have investigated the relationship between cognitive distortions and emotion regulation among adolescent gamblers, demonstrating the exacerbating role of alcohol consumption when co-occurring with gambling problems. An important construct, that to date has been largely neglected, is mentalizing (i.e. the ability to reflect on one's own and others' mental states). The aim of the present study was (for the first time) to investigate the relative contribution of mentalization, emotional dysregulation, cognitive distortions, and alcohol consumption among adolescent gamblers. A total of 396 students (69.2% females) aged 14-19 years were recruited from secondary schools in Southern Italy. Assessment measures included the South Oaks Gambling Screen Revised for Adolescents (SOGS-RA), the Reflective Functioning Questionnaire (RFQ-8), the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS), the Gambling Related Cognitions Scale (GRCS), and the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT). Regression analysis showed that, along with male gender, the best predictors of adolescent gambling were scores on two GRCS subscales (i.e., 'inability to stop gambling' and 'interpretative bias'), the RFQ-8's 'uncertainty about mental states' dimension, and the DERS 'impulse control difficulties' factor, with the overall model explaining more than one-third of the total variance. The results clearly indicated that, along with gambling-related cognitive distortions, uncertainty about mental states, and difficulties remaining in control of one's behavior when experiencing negative emotions contributed significantly to problematic gambling among adolescents.

The Management of Dental Practices in the Post-COVID 19 Era: An Economic and Operational Perspective.

BACKGROUND: In order to protect dental teams and their patients during the COVID-19 pandemic, dentists have had to adopt several measures (operating and post-operating procedures) which may increase the total treatment time and costs relating to individual protective measures. This paper will propose a thorough analysis of operating dentistry procedures, comparing the economic performance of the activity in a dental surgery before and after the adoption of these protective measures, which are required to contain the risk of SARS-COV-2 infections. METHODS: The economic analysis is articulated in three approaches. Firstly, it assesses a reduction in markup by maintaining current charges (A); alternatively, it suggests revised charges to adopt in order to maintain unvaried levels of markup (B). And the third Approach (C) examines available dental treatments, highlighting how to profitably combine treatment volumes to reduce markup loss or a restricted increase in dental charges. RESULTS: Maintaining dental charges could cause a loss in markup, even rising to 200% (A); attempting to maintain unvaried levels of markup will result in an increase in dental charges, even at 100% (B); and varying the volumes of the single dental treatments on offer (increasing those which current research indicates as the most profitable) could mitigate the economic impact of the measures to prevent the transmission of SARS-COV-2 (C). CONCLUSIONS: The authors of this paper provide managerial insights which can assist the dentist-entrepreneur to become aware of the boundaries of the economic consequences of governmental measures in containing the virus infection.

Chasing the desire: An investigation on the role of craving, time perspective, and alcohol use in adolescent gambling.

Chasing, or continuing to gamble to recoup losses, is a behavioral marker and a diagnostic criterion for gambling disorder. Research on chasing has focused mainly on adults, whereas the analysis of chasing behavior among adolescents has not received empirical attention in the gambling literature. The aim of the present study was to first investigate the interplay between chasing behavior, craving, temporal perspective, alcohol use, and gambling severity among Italian adolescents. Three hundred and sixty-four adolescents took part in the study. Participants completed the South Oaks Gambling Screen Revised for Adolescents (SOGS-RA), the Gambling Craving Scale (GACS), the 14-item Consideration of Future Consequences scale (CFC-14), the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), and performed a computerized task assessing chasing behavior. Participants were randomly assigned to the control and the loss condition of the computerized task. Results indicated that the choice to continue playing, as well as chasing frequency did not vary as a function of experimental condition. Hierarchical logistic and linear regression analyses revealed that the decision to chase depended mostly on craving, whereas chasing propensity was affected by craving and alcohol misuse. Notably, gambling severity did not predict either the decision to chase, or the chasing persistence. The present study contributes important findings to the gambling literature, highlighting the role of craving alcohol use in facilitating the inability to stop within-sessions gambling among adolescents. These findings may provide evidence that nonchasers and chasers represent two different types of gamblers, and that the difference may be useful for targeting more effective therapies.

Disordered gambling and attentional bias: The mediating role of risk-taking.

BACKGROUND: Previous research has emphasized the importance of attentional bias in the maintenance of both adult and adolescent disordered gambling. There is a substantial body of empirical evidence demonstrating facilitated attention and difficulty in disengagement from gambling stimuli among disordered gamblers, but no study has ever experimentally investigated the association between attentional bias and risk-taking behavior in gambling. The aim of the present study was to examine the interrelationship between attentional bias for gambling stimuli, risk-taking attitude, and severity of gambling involvement. METHODS: The present study recruited 70 male adults from gambling venues to participate in the experiment. Gambling severity, attentional bias, and risk-taking were assessed utilizing the South Oaks Gambling Screen, the Modified Posner Task, and the Balloon Analogue Risk Task, respectively. RESULTS: Disordered gamblers showed greater readiness to detect gambling stimuli and took more risks than non-disordered gamblers. Regression analysis showed that being of a young age, automatic facilitated attention for gambling cues, and risk-proneness significantly predicted problem gambling. Additionally, a path analysis was performed to test if automatic facilitated attention towards gambling was on the path from risk-taking to gambling severity, or if risk-taking mediated the impact of facilitation biases on gambling severity. The results indicated that attentional bias predicted gambling severity both directly and indirectly via risk-taking. LIMITATIONS: The modest sample size and the absence of female gamblers limited the generalizability of the results. CONCLUSIONS: The present findings are compatible with the view that an automatic detection of gambling stimuli is responsible for greater riskiness that, in turn, fosters gambling problems.

The Associations Between Maladaptive Personality Traits, Craving, Alcohol Use, and Adolescent Problem Gambling: An Italian Survey Study.

Although gambling disorder (GD) criteria do not explicitly address craving, it has received increased attention because it has been found to be a significant predictor of gambling severity. Furthermore, recent findings have suggested that both alcohol consumption and maladaptive personality traits may be risk factors among adult GD. To date, no study has evaluated the relative contribution of these factors in adolescent gambling behavior. Consequently, the present study investigated the relationship between gambling severity, craving, maladaptive personality traits, and alcohol use among adolescents. The sample comprised 550 Italian high-school students (50.2% males), aged 14-19 years (mean age = 16.24 years; SD = 1.56). Participants were administered the South Oaks Gambling Screen-Revised for Adolescents, Gambling Craving Scale (GACS), Personality Inventory for DSM-5-Brief Format (PID-5-BF), and Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT). Results indicated that relative to both non-gamblers and non-problem gamblers, at-risk gamblers and problem gamblers scored higher on GACS, PID-5-BF and AUDIT. Regression analysis showed that Antagonism and Disinhibition PID-5-BF dimensions, Anticipation and Desire GACS subscales, and AUDIT total score were the best predictors of adolescent gambling involvement. These findings provide the first empirical evidence of associations between problematic gambling, craving, alcohol consumption, and maladaptive personality traits in adolescence.

The interplay between chasing behavior, time perspective, and gambling severity: An experimental study.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Chasing refers to continued gambling in an attempt to recoup previous losses and is one of the diagnostic criteria for gambling disorder. However, research on the topic is still in its infancy. This study investigated whether chasing behavior mediates the relationship between time perspective and gambling severity. METHODS: Non-problem gamblers (N = 26) and problem gamblers (N = 66) with the same demographic features (age and gender) were compared on the Consideration of Future Consequences and a computerized task assessing chasing. The Italian South Oaks Gambling Screen was used to discriminate participants in terms of gambling severity. RESULTS: Significant correlations were found relating to gambling severity, chasing, and time perspective. More specifically, the results showed that problem gamblers reported more chasing and a foreshortened time horizon. Chasers, compared to non-chasers, were found to be more oriented to the present. Regression analysis showed that male gender, present-oriented time perspective, and chasing were good predictors of gambling severity. Finally, to clarify if present orientation was on the path from chasing to gambling severity or if chasing was the mediator of the impact of present orientation on gambling severity, a path analysis was performed. The results indicated that present orientation had a direct effect on gambling severity and mediated the relationship between chasing and gambling involvement. CONCLUSION: The findings support the exacerbating role of chasing in gambling disorder and for the first time show the relationship of time perspective, chasing, and gambling severity among adults.

The fuzzy future: Time horizon, memory failures, and emotional distress in gambling disorder.

This study aimed to first investigate the interplay among self-rated ability in both retrospective and prospective memory, time perspective, and negative affectivity to gambling severity. Two hundred and three habitual players took part in the study. Participants were administered the South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS), the Consideration of Future Consequences scale (CFC-14), the Prospective and Retrospective Memory Questionnaire (PRMQ), as well as the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scales-21 (DASS-21). Overall, data indicated that the higher the involvement in gambling, the higher the depression levels and the shorter the time horizon. The results of linear regression analysis showed that, along with gender, years of education, depression, and inattention to the future consequences of actual behavior, the negative self-perception of prospective memory functioning represents a significant predictor of gambling severity. Finally, to clarify if depression was on the path from prospective memory to gambling severity or if prospective memory was the mediator of the impact of depression on gambling severity, data were submitted to path analysis. Results indicated that depression has a direct effect on gambling severity and mediates the association between prospective memory and gambling involvement. The relation between gambling severity and prospective memory scores suggests that impairment in prospective memory plays a key role in adult problematic gambling.

Facilitated attention for gambling cues in adolescent problem gamblers: An experimental study.

BACKGROUND: Studies investigating attentional biases in gambling have observed that problem gamblers' attention is biased toward gambling cues. Despite the increase of gambling among adolescents, to date, no study has ever examined the role of attentional bias in adolescent gambling, as well as the relationships between adolescent gambling severity, craving, and alcohol use. METHODS: The present study comprised 87 adolescent participants. Based on South Oaks Gambling Screen Revised for Adolescents (SOGS-RA) scores, participants were assigned to non-problem or problem gamblers groups. Participants performed a modified Posner Task (with cue presentation times at 100 and 500 ms) to assess attentional biases. Following the experiment, participants completed the Gambling Craving Scale (GACS) and the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT). RESULTS: Compared to non-problem gamblers, problem gamblers displayed facilitation bias for gambling cues at 500 ms and reported higher levels of craving and alcohol consumption. Results also indicated that alcohol use correlated with facilitation bias. LIMITATIONS: The recruitment of a predominantly male sample and the use of an indirect measure of attentional bias may have affected the findings concerning attentional processes. CONCLUSIONS: The present study provides the first empirical evidence of attentional processes in adolescent gambling, and confirms the role of attentional biases, craving, and alcohol use being associated factors in adolescent problem gambling. The results of the present study stress the importance of attentional biases in the initial stages of problem gambling and suggest the need for clinical interventions aimed at reducing attentional bias before they became automatic. Overall, the present study stressed the role of attentional bias as both facilitator and a consequence of gambling involvement.

An experimental investigation of the role of delay discounting and craving in gambling chasing behavior.

Chasing is a central feature of gambling disorder and refers to the attempt by individuals to recover financial losses by continuing to gamble. Although several efforts have been made to individuate the factors involved in the complex phenomenon of chasing, little is known regarding its association with delay discounting and craving, both considered important in the development and maintenance of gambling disorder. In the present study, the interplay between chasing, delay discounting, and craving (while controlling for gambling severity) was investigated. The sample comprised 128 adult gamblers aged between 18 and 67 years and consisted of non-problem gamblers (n = 58), problem gamblers (n = 18), and pathological gamblers (n = 52) based on the South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS) scores. Participants were administered the Monetary Choice Questionnaire (MCQ) and the Gambling Craving Scale (GACS), as well as completing the ChasIT, a computerized task assessing chasing behavior. Participants were randomly assigned to the control and the loss condition of the ChasIT. Results showed that pathological gamblers were more likely to chase and reported more severe chasing persistence. Regression analyses indicated that heightened levels of craving and the inability to tolerate delay in gratification, along with gambling severity, predicted both the decision to chase and chasing persistence. The present study contributes important findings to the gambling literature, highlighting the role of craving and delay discounting in facilitating the inability to stop within-sessions gambling. These findings may provide evidence that chasers and non-chasers represent two different types of gamblers, and that the difference may be useful for targeting more effective therapies.

Decision-Making Styles, Negative Affectivity, and Cognitive Distortions in Adolescent Gambling.

Evidences from the extant literature suggest that problem gamblers show higher cognitive distortions and reported experiencing higher levels of negative affective states than recreational gamblers. Furthermore, several studies reported that the more the gambling severity, the poorer the performance in behavioral tasks assessing affective decision-making. Although gambling research on decision-making has mostly focused on the functional or dysfunctional outcomes of the decisional process, no study examined the role of decision-making styles in gambling disorder. This study aimed to first investigate the interplay among negative affectivity, cognitive distortions, and decision-making styles in adolescent problem gambling. Four hundred and twenty-five adolescents, aged between 14 and 19 years, completed the South Oaks Gambling Screen Revised for Adolescents to assess problem gambling, the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scales-21 to measure negative affective states, and the Gambling Related Cognitions Scale as a measure of cognitive distortions about gambling, and the General Decision-Making Style tapping habitual patterns which individuals use in decision-making. Data were submitted to correlational analysis, univariate and mixed-model ANOVAs, and hierarchical regression analysis. Regression analysis indicated that, along with gender, interpretative bias and inability to stop gambling, depression, and spontaneous decision-making style significantly predicted gambling severity. These results extend further previous studies on the role of misconceptions about gambling, and negative affective states in adolescent gambling, and, interestingly, first demonstrate that also maladaptive decision-making styles may represent a risk factor for gambling disorder.

The steamy mirror of adolescent gamblers: Mentalization, impulsivity, and time horizon.

This study aimed to first investigate the role that general impairment in mentalization plays in gambling disorder and to analyze the interplay among mentalizing, impulsivity, and time perspective in adolescent gambling. Four hundred and ten late adolescents took part in the study. Participants were administered the South Oaks Gambling Screen Revised for Adolescents (SOGS-RA), the Reflective Functioning Questionnaire (RFQ-8), the Functional and Dysfunctional Impulsivity Scale (FDIS), and the 14-item Consideration of Future Consequences scale (CFC-14). The results showed that male adolescents are far more likely at-risk/problem gamblers than female adolescents. Furthermore, data indicated that the higher the gambling severity, the higher the dysfunctional impulsivity and the shorter the time horizon. Linear regression analysis showed that impairments in mentalizing represent a significant predictor of gambling severity. Finally, to clarify if dysfunctional impulsivity was on the path from uncertain mentalizing to gambling severity or if mentalizing was the mediator of the impact of functional impulsivity on gambling severity, data were submitted to path analysis. Results indicated that deficit in mentalizing has a direct effect on gambling severity and mediates the association between dysfunctional impulsivity and gambling involvement. The relation between gambling severity and RFQ-8 scores suggests that general impairment in mentalizing plays a key role in adolescent problematic gambling.

To chase or not to chase: A study on the role of mentalization and alcohol consumption in chasing behavior.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Chasing is a behavioral marker and a diagnostic criterion for gambling disorder. Although chasing has been recognized to play a central role in gambling disorder, research on this topic is relatively scarce. This study investigated the association between chasing, alcohol consumption, and mentalization among habitual gamblers. METHOD: A total of 132 adults took part in the study. Participants were administered the South Oaks Gambling Screen, the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, the Reflective Functioning Questionnaire, and a laboratory task assessing chasing behavior. Participants were randomly assigned to three experimental conditions (Control, Loss, and Win). To deeply investigate chasing behavior, participants were requested to indicate the reasons for stopping or continuing playing at the end of the experimental session. RESULTS: Logistic regression analysis showed that the choice to stop or continue playing depended on experimental condition and alcohol use. Hierarchical linear regression indicated that chasing propensity was affected by experimental condition, alcohol consumption, and deficit in mentalization. The results of path analysis showed that hypermentalizing predicts chasing not only directly, but also indirectly via alcohol consumption. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, these results for the first time showed that hypermentalization plays a key role in chasing behavior over and above gambling severity. Since these findings support the idea that chasers and non-chasers are different subtypes of gamblers, clinical interventions should consider the additive role of chasing in gambling disorder.

Tempting fate: Chasing and maladaptive personality traits in gambling behavior.

Chasing, or continuing to gamble in an attempt to recoup losses, is a salient feature of problematic gambling. This study, which controlled for gambling severity and alcohol consumption, investigated the association between chasing and maladaptive personality trait domains among habitual gamblers. Participants comprised 126 adult habitual gamblers (73% males) aged between 18 and 69 years. They were administered the South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS), the Personality Inventory for DSM-5-Brief Form (PID-5-BF), the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), and a computerized task developed to assess chasing behavior. Participants were randomly assigned to two chasing conditions (Control and Loss). Data were submitted to correlational analysis, univariate and mixed-model ANOVAs, logistic and linear regression analyses. Results showed that the decision to chase was strongly associated with the PID-5-BF Disinhibition domain scores, whereas chasing proneness was related to the Disinhibition, Detachment and Psychoticism domains. Interestingly, chasers scored higher than nonchasers on maladaptive personality dimensions, even after controlling for gender, age, chasing condition, alcohol consumption, and gambling severity. Since these findings support the idea that chasers and nonchasers are different subtypes of gamblers, clinical interventions should take into account the additive role of chasing in gambling disorder.

The illusion of handy wins: Problem gambling, chasing, and affective decision-making.

BACKGROUND: Chasing losses is a behavioral marker and a diagnostic criterion for gambling disorder. It consists in continuing gambling to recoup previous losses. Although chasing has been recognized playing a central role in gambling disorder, research on this topic is relatively scarce, and it remains unclear whether chasing affects decision-making in behavioral tasks in which participants gain or loss some money. Even if several studies found that the more the gambling involvement, the poorer the decision-making, to date no research investigated the role of chasing in decision-making. METHODS: The study aimed to first investigate the relation between chasing and decision-making in adult gamblers. One hundred and four VLT players were administered the South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS), a computerized task measuring chasing, and the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT). RESULTS: Correlation analysis showed that the higher the SOGS scores, the higher the propensity to chase, and the poorer the decision-making performance. Regression analysis revealed that chasing propensity and gambling severity predicted IGT performance. Mediation analysis indicated that the association between gambling severity and poor decision-making is mediated by chasing. LIMITATIONS: Gambling severity was assessed by means of a self-report measure. The generalizability of findings is limited, since the study focused only on VLT players. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides the first evidence that chasing, along with gambling severity, affects decision-making, at least in behavioral tasks involving money. Since chasers and non-chasers could be two different sub-types of gamblers, treatment protocols should take into account the additive role of chasing in gambling disorder.

The Blurred Future of Adolescent Gamblers: Impulsivity, Time Horizon, and Emotional Distress.

The main purpose of this study was to investigate the interplay of functional and dysfunctional impulsivity, delay discounting, time perspective, and emotional negative states on gambling severity in Italian adolescents. A second aim of the study was to analyze the developmental trajectories of gambling involvement, functional and dysfunctional impulsivity, delay discounting, consideration of future consequences, and negative affectivity in a cross-sectional perspective. One thousand and ten Italian adolescents aging between 12 and 19 years were administered the South Oaks Gambling Screen Revised for Adolescents (SOGS-RA), the Functional and Dysfunctional Impulsivity Scale (FDIS), the Monetary Choice Questionnaire (MCQ), the Consideration of Future Consequences Scale (CFC-14), and the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scales-21 (DASS-21). Data analyses were conducted using correlational analysis, Chi-square test, analysis of variance, and hierarchical regression analysis. Results indicated that, relative to non-gamblers and non-problem gamblers, at-risk and problem gamblers showed higher levels of impulsivity, steeper delay discounting, shorter time horizon, and reported experiencing significantly higher levels of depression, anxiety, and stress. Results of hierarchical regression analysis, with SOGS-RA scores as the dependent variable, and gender, age, FDIS, MCQ, CFC-14, and DASS-21 scores as independent variables, indicated that, along with gender and age, low scores of future orientation and high scores of dysfunctional impulsivity, depression, anxiety, present orientation, and delay discounting significantly predicted gambling severity. These findings provide further evidence that the higher the gambling involvement, the greater the tendency to devalue delayed rewards and to focus on the immediate consequences of one's behavior. Interestingly, for the first time these results reveal an association between gambling severity and both dysfunctional impulsivity and negative affective states across adolescence. Finally, results of cross-sectional analyses suggest that gambling severity contributes more than age in shaping the developmental trajectories of functional and dysfunctional impulsivity, delay discounting, time perspective, and negative affective states.