Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2016 Jun;32(2):661-74.
doi: 10.1007/s10899-015-9549-7.

Cue-Reactive Altered State of Consciousness Mediates the Relationship Between Problem-Gambling Severity and Cue-Reactive Urge in Poker-Machine Gamblers

Christopher Tricker  1 , Adam J Rock  2 , Gavin I Clark  1
Affiliations

Cue-Reactive Altered State of Consciousness Mediates the Relationship Between Problem-Gambling Severity and Cue-Reactive Urge in Poker-Machine Gamblers

Christopher Tricker et al. J Gambl Stud. 2016 Jun.

Abstract

In order to enhance our understanding of the nature of poker-machine problem-gambling, a community sample of 37 poker-machine gamblers (M age = 32 years, M PGSI = 5; PGSI = Problem Gambling Severity Index) were assessed for urge to gamble (responses on a visual analogue scale) and altered state of consciousness (assessed by the Altered State of Awareness dimension of the Phenomenology of Consciousness Inventory) at baseline, after a neutral cue, and after a gambling cue. It was found that (a) problem-gambling severity (PGSI score) predicted increase in urge (from neutral cue to gambling cue, controlling for baseline; sr (2) = .19, p = .006) and increase in altered state of consciousness (from neutral cue to gambling cue, controlling for baseline; sr (2) = .57, p < .001), and (b) increase in altered state of consciousness (from neutral cue to gambling cue) mediated the relationship between problem-gambling severity and increase in urge (from neutral cue to gambling cue; κ(2) = .40, 99 % CI [.08, .71]). These findings suggest that cue-reactive altered state of consciousness is an important component of cue-reactive urge in poker-machine problem-gamblers.

Keywords: Altered state of consciousness; Gambling cue-reactivity; Poker-machines.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Am J Psychiatry. 1987 Sep;144(9):1184-8 - PubMed
    1. Subst Use Misuse. 1999 Sep;34(11):1593-604 - PubMed
    1. Psychol Addict Behav. 2009 Dec;23(4):731-5 - PubMed
    1. J Gambl Stud. 2012 Sep;28(3):451-64 - PubMed
    1. Psychol Addict Behav. 2004 Jun;18(2):100-5 - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources