A Comparison of gambling-related cognitions and behaviors in gamblers from the United States and Spain

Abstract

Altres ajuts: We thank CERCA Programme/Generalitat de Catalunya for institutional support. Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER) "Una manera de hacer Europa"/"a way to build Europe". Investigación subvencionada por la Delegación del Gobierno para el Plan Nacional sobre Drogas (2017I067).GMB was supported by a postdoctoral grant from FUNCIVA. Dr. Potenza's involvement was supported by a National Center for Responsible Gaming Center of Excellence grant and by the Connecticut Council on Problem Gambling and the Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services.

Few studies have compared the clinical characteristics of gambling disorder (GD) from a cross-cultural perspective. In the present study, we aimed to examine differences in gambling-related cognitions, gambling preferences, GD severity and other clinical and sociodemographic variables in individuals with GD in the United States and Spain. Two groups of participants with GD (from the United States of America (US; n = 109) and Spain (n = 243) were compared using the South Oaks gambling screen and the gambling-related cognitions scale. In Spain, the prevalence of participants who reported only non-strategic gambling preferences was higher, whereas in the US, participants tended to engage in a wider breadth of gambling activities. Moreover, Spanish participants reported higher GD severity, while participants in the US endorsed greater gambling-related cognitions. Our findings suggest that there may jurisdictional or cultural differences in terms of gambling-related cognitions, gambling preferences, and GD severity levels among individuals in the US versus Spain. These differences, which may reflect cultural regulatory or other factors, should be investigated further, and considered when developing and implementing interventions for GD.