AUTHOR=Hagen Amanda E. F. , Nogueira-Arjona Raquel , Sherry Simon B. , Rodriguez Lindsey M. , Yakovenko Igor , Stewart Sherry H. 

TITLE=What explains the link between romantic conflict with gambling problems? Testing a serial mediational model

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychology

VOLUME=Volume 14 - 2023

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1018098

DOI=10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1018098

ISSN=1664-1078

ABSTRACT=While individuals have many motives to gamble, one particularly risky motive for gambling is to cope with negative affect. Conflict with one’s romantic partner is a strong predictor of negative affect, which may elicit coping motives for gambling and, in turn, gambling-related problems. Support for this mediational model was  demonstrated in relation to drinking-related problems (Lambe et al., 2015). We extended this model to gambling. Using a cross-sectional design, we examined links between romantic conflict (Partner-Specific Rejecting Behaviors Scale), negative affect (Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scales-21), coping gambling motives (Gambling Motives Questionnaire, coping subscale), and gambling-related problems (Problem Gambling Severity Index [PGSI]) in 206 regular gamblers (64% men; mean age = 44.7 years; mean PGSI = 8.7) who were in a romantic relationship and recruited through Qualtrics Panels in July 2021. Results supported our hypothesis that the association between romantic conflict and gambling-related problems would be sequentially mediated through negative affect and coping gambling motives, β = .38, 95% CI [.27, .39], and also showed a strong single mediation pathway through negative affect alone, β = .27, 95% CI [.17, .38]. Interventions should target both negative affect and coping gambling motives in response to romantic conflict to reduce gambling-related problems in partnered gamblers.