Study on Factors Associated with Repeated Gambling Among Gamblers Anonymous Participants

Objective: While there are some Gamblers Anonymous (GA) participants who gamble again, no studies have investigated factors that differentiate GA participants who can quit repeated gambling from those who gamble again. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether individuals who participated in GA, a self-help groups, gambled again, and to identify the factors that were associated with those who gambled again after participating in GA. Methods: The subjects were 58 pathological gamblers who had participated in GA group meetings. We divided the subjects into 2 groups, a group who had gambled again and group who had not, and we investigated associations with their basic information, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory Trait Version (STAI-T), Generalized Self Efficacy Scale (GSES), and Effortful Control Scale for Adults (ECSA). Results: The replies regarding whether they had gambled again after participating in GA showed that 25 (43.1%) had not and 33 had (56.9%). A logistic regression analysis showed that GSES and ECSA “inhibitory control” as significant factors that were associated with whether a subject returned to gambling. Conclusion: These results suggested that it may be possible to identify people who have a temperament that makes them tend to gamble again by evaluating their self-efficacy and inhibitory control.