Beliefs, behaviors, and bets: impulsivity in veterans receiving inpatient treatment for gambling disorder

Alexander J. Connolly, Frank Nieblas, Heather Chapman, Shane W. Kraus and Joshua B. Grubbs

International Gambling Studies, 2025, vol. 25, issue 3, 532-547

Abstract: Armed forces veterans are at risk of gambling-related problems and harms. Relatively few studies have examined how individual differences in this population might be related to specific gambling problems. The present work examines how facets of impulsivity (derived from the UPPS-P model of impulsivity) relate to problem gambling severity, gambling-related cognitions, and gambling preferences. The sample consisted of US Armed Forces Veterans receiving inpatient treatment for Gambling Disorder in a Veterans Affairs hospital (N = 549; Mean Age[SD] = 53.55[11.4], 78.3% Men). Analyses revealed that higher levels of sensation seeking and lower levels of negative urgency were associated with being a purely strategic gambler (relative to purely non-strategic). Similarly, even in this extremely clinically severe sample, greater levels of sensation seeking, greater lack of perseverance, and greater negative urgency were associated with greater gambling symptom severity. Finally, greater positive urgency was consistently related to all forms of erroneous gambling beliefs and gambling related cognitive distortions as measured by the Gambling Related Cognitions Scale. These findings underscore the potential clinical utility of targeting specific impulsivity traits in assessment and intervention strategies. Similarly, findings may inform structural efforts to tailor prevention and treatment approaches for veterans with gambling disorder.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1080/14459795.2025.2539341

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International Gambling Studies is currently edited by Katie Donnelly, David Marshall, Bronwyn Stuart, Alex Blaszczynski and Jan McMillen

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