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Comparative Study
. 2021 Mar;37(1):319-333.
doi: 10.1007/s10899-020-09971-0.

A Comparison of Gambling-Related Cognitions and Behaviors in Gamblers from the United States and Spain

Gemma Mestre-Bach #  1   2 , Trevor Steward #  3 , Iris M Balodis  4 , Cristina Vintró-Alcaraz  1   5 , Roser Granero  5   6 , Fernando Fernández-Aranda  1   5   7 , José M Menchón  1   7   8 , Susana Jiménez-Murcia  9   10   11 , Marc N Potenza  12   13   14   15
Affiliations
Comparative Study

A Comparison of Gambling-Related Cognitions and Behaviors in Gamblers from the United States and Spain

Gemma Mestre-Bach et al. J Gambl Stud. 2021 Mar.

Abstract

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.

Keywords: Addictive behaviors; Cognition; Cross-cultural; Gambling disorder; Impulse control.

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