Giovanna Nigro

Adolescence represents a critical developmental period for the emergence of maladaptive gambling behaviors, including loss chasing, a key marker of gambling-related harm. The present study provides the first behavioral examination of the interplay among gambling severity, gambling-related cognitive distortions, temporal perspective, alcohol use, and chasing behavior in a sample of Italian adolescents. Participants completed the South Oaks Gambling Screen for Adolescents (SOGS-RA), the Gambling Related Cognitions Scale (GRCS), the Consideration of Future Consequences Scale (CFC-14), and the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), and performed a computerized task assessing chasing behavior. Participants were randomly assigned to either a control or a loss condition. Logistic regression analyses indicated that illusion of control and present-oriented time perspective predicted chasing initiation, independent of gambling severity. The loss condition did not significantly influence initiation but did predict chasing persistence. Hierarchical linear regression further showed that chasing persistence was predicted by the loss condition, higher illusion of control and predictive control, stronger present orientation, and greater alcohol use, over and above gambling severity. Path analysis identified cognitive distortions as the primary mechanism underlying chasing persistence, exerting both direct effects and indirect effects through increased temporal myopia. Notably, gambling severity did not independently predict chasing once cognitive and temporal factors were considered. These findings suggest that loss chasing in adolescence may reflect a distinct behavioral vulnerability driven by distorted beliefs and present-focused orientation rather than overall gambling severity. Targeting predictive control beliefs and strengthening future-oriented thinking may enhance prevention and early intervention strategies for youth gambling.

Several studies highlighted how social isolation due to pandemic restrictions influenced subjective experience of solitude, negative affective states, and the subjective time awareness. The main aim of the present study was to investigate, for the first time, the interplay among social isolation due to quarantine, psychological distress, perceived loneliness, and the subjective perception of the passage of time during Covid-19 pandemic. A total of 810 participants, aged 18–60, were administered a set of socio-demographic questions, the University of California, Los Angeles, Loneliness Scale-Version 3 (for perceived loneliness), the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (for general psychological distress), and the Subjective Time Questionnaire (for the subjective passage of time). Results revealed higher levels of psychological distress in participants in quarantine. Female gender, and both perceived loneliness and stress were significant positive predictors of time pressure. Furthermore, lower education level, younger age, quarantine, higher levels of loneliness, depression and anxiety, and lower levels of stress were significant predictors of time expansion. Lastly, the mediation analysis showed that he subjective experience of solitude indirectly affected time pressure through stress, and time expansion through depression, anxiety, and stress. Taken together these results demonstrated that the subjective experience of loneliness, but not social isolation per se , had an impact on individual experience of time, also acting indirectly through negative affective states. This study reveals how psychological variables impact on subjective experience of time during specific trauma, but it also suggests how the changes of social environment impact on psychological distress and time perception.

Dysfunctional decision-making and intense craving represent pivotal aspects across all addictive behaviors, notably evident in gambling addiction where these factors significantly shape chasing behavior—continuing gambling to recoup losses—indicative of problematic gambling. This study explores the correlation between chasing behavior, craving, affective decision-making, decision-making styles, and gambling severity among habitual Italian gamblers. One hundred and sixty-six participants from diverse gambling venues completed assessments including the South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS), the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT), the General Decision-Making Style (GDMS), the Gambling Craving Scale (GACS), and a computerized task to measure chasing behavior. Participants were randomly assigned to Control and Loss chasing conditions. Regression analyses revealed craving as a predictor of chasing behavior. Interestingly, individuals with a dependent decision-making style exhibited lower tendencies to chase. While IGT performance correlates with chasing frequency, it is not associated with the decision to continue or cease gambling. Intriguingly, gambling severity (SOGS total score) did not feature in the final models of both regression analyses. These findings emphasize the significant role of craving in driving chasing behavior. Additionally, this study introduces, for the first time, the idea that a dependent decision-making style could potentially serve as a safeguard against chasing proneness. The study suggests a fundamental dichotomy between chasers and nonchasers among gamblers, irrespective of gambling severity. This distinction could be instrumental in tailoring more effective intervention strategies for gambling disorder treatment.

The research aimed to assess the reliability, factor structure, and validity of the Italian adaptation of the Mentalization Scale (MentS), a 28-item self-report questionnaire that measures mentalization across three dimensions. The psychometric properties of the Italian version were examined in two studies with large samples of adults and adolescents. The first study (Study 1) aimed to evaluate, through exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, the construct validity of the Italian version of the MentS in adolescents (N = 618) and adults (N = 720). The second study (Study 2) was undertaken to test the convergent validity and temporal stability of the Italian version of the MentS. Specifically, the study assessed the relationship between the MentS and scores on the Reflective Functioning Questionnaire (RFQ-8), one of the most widely used instruments to assess mentalization, in a large sample of high-school students (N = 472). Furthermore, the study evaluated the 4-week test-retest reliability of the instrument in a sample of undergraduates (N = 128). The questionnaire exhibited strong internal consistency across both adult and adolescent samples, with Cronbach’s alphas ranging from 0.71 to 0.83. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses consistently identified three correlated underlying factors within both age groups, demonstrating the robust factor structure of the Italian version of the MentS. Furthermore, the tool demonstrated strong convergent validity with the RFQ-8 and acceptable test-retest reliability over a 4-week period. These findings provide compelling evidence supporting the Italian version of the MentS as a reliable and valid self-report measure for comprehensively assessing different facets of mentalization.

Background: The fifth version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM-5) and its revised version (DSM-5-TR) propose severity levels for gambling disorder (GD) based on the number of criteria met. However, this taxonomy has some limitations. We aimed to assess the centrality of each criterion and its relationship by conducting a network analysis while considering sex differences. Methods: We performed a network analysis with the DSM-5 criteria for GD with data from 4,203 treatment-seeking patients (3,836 men and 367 women) diagnosed with GD who sought for treatment in a general tertiary hospital which has a unit specialized in behavioral addictions. Results: The withdrawal criterion (“Restless or irritable when attempting to cut down or stop gambling”) showed the highest centrality values in both sexes. In men, the second most central criterion was the tolerance criterion (“Needs to gamble with increasing amounts of money in order to achieve the desired excitement”); while among women, the second was the chasing losses criterion (“After losing money gambling, often returns another day to get even”). Conclusions: The most central criteria identified are associated with compulsivity-driven behaviors of the addictive process. Taking into account the high relevance and transitive capacity of withdrawal in both men and women, as well as tolerance in men, and chasing losses in women, the recognition and understanding of these symptoms are fundamental for the accurate diagnosis and severity assessment of GD.

The 11th Revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) formally recognized gaming disorder as an addictive health disorder like gambling disorder. The ICD-11 assumes that excessive online gaming can lead to functional/clinical impairments and psychological distress among a minority of individuals. The present study investigated similarities and commonalities between internet gaming disorder (IGD) and gambling disorder among adolescents (N = 366 students, 13–19 years). Participants completed the South Oaks Gambling Screen Revised for Adolescents (SOGS-RA), the Internet Gaming Disorder Scale-Short Form (IGDS9-SF), the Personality Inventory for DSM-5 Brief Form (PID-5-BF), the Reflective Functioning Questionnaire (RFQ-8), the Consideration of Future Consequences Scale (CFC-14), and the Adolescent Dissociative Experiences Scale (A-DES). Regression analyses showed that the significant predictors of (i) gambling severity were being male, high scores on the PID-5-BF Disinhibition and Antagonism domains, and low scores on RFQ-Certainty and CFC-Future subscales, and (ii) gaming severity were being male, high scores on the PID-5-BF Detachment scale and the A-DES, and low scores on the RFQ-Certainty. Risk factors shared by both disorders were male gender and impaired mentalization. Specific interventions on mentalization abilities may be useful in reducing and preventing problematic involvement in both gaming and gambling among adolescents.

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.