Me, Myself, and Money II: Relative Deprivation Predicts Disordered Gambling Severity via Delay Discounting, Especially Among Gamblers Who Have a Financially Focused Self-Concept.
In the current research, we examined whether the known link between relative deprivation and disordered gambling (via delay discounting; i.e., preferences for immediate smaller rewards relative to delayed larger rewards) is moderated by the extent to which gamblers have a financially focused self-concept. Specifically, we hypothesized that delay discounting would be a strong predictor of disordered gambling among those who base their self-worth on their financial success. To test this moderated-mediation model, a community sample of gamblers (N = 239) completed measures that assessed relative deprivation, delay discounting, financially focused self-concept, and disordered gambling severity. As predicted, people who felt more relative deprivation reported more severe symptoms of disordered gambling and this association was mediated by delay discounting. Importantly, this mediated relationship was moderated by the extent to which participants' self-concept was focused on financial success. Among participants whose self-concept was high in financial focus, greater delay discounting (stemming from relative deprivation) was a strong predictor of disordered gambling. Among people whose self-concept was low in financial focus, delay discounting (stemming from relative deprivation) was a weak predictor of disordered gambling. Thus, the magnitude of the indirect effect of relative deprivation on disordered gambling severity was larger among people with a more financially focused self-concept-an effect mediated by delay discounting. These findings suggest that targeting gamblers' financial focus in prevention and treatment interventions may be instrumental in curtailing the development and maintenance of disordered gambling.
['Tabri|Nassim|N|', 'Will Shead|N|N|', 'Wohl|Michael J A|MJA|']
D000328:Adult D001007:Anxiety D016739:Behavior, Addictive D065786:Delay Discounting D005260:Female D005715:Gambling D006801:Humans D008297:Male D012201:Reward D012649:Self Concept D057566:Self Report D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
Money Relative deprivation Disordered gambling Delay discounting Self-concept