Not “just for fun”: Gambling, substance use, and the transdiagnostic role of emotion regulation

Abstract

Models of substance use disorders and more recently pathological gambling underscore stress-relief in maintenance of addictive behaviors. This study examines emotion regulation difficulties as predictors of gambling severity in a community sample with and without substance use disorder symptomatology, hypothesizing that more emotion regulation difficulties, and particularly the reliance on avoidance, would be associated with greater addiction severity both for substances and gambling. Adults regular gamblers were recruited using social media advertising for a survey on emotion regulation, gambling, and substance use. As expected, substance use and gambling showed high co-occurrence. Emotion regulation difficulties predicted severity of gambling but not alcohol use symptoms, although correlations were significant for both disorders. Participants with gambling only and comorbid gambling and substance use showed the greatest reliance on emotional non-acceptance and non-awareness. Poor emotion regulation and avoidance of emotional awareness may contribute to the maintenance of addictions, especially gambling pathology. Improvement of emotional awareness, expression, and acceptance may provide a pathway for reducing such behaviors.