Muela Ismael, Ciria Luis F, Luque-Casado Antonio, López-Guerrero José, Rivero Francisco J, Perales José C
1Department of Experimental Psychology; Mind, Brain and Behavior Research Center (CIMCYC); Universidad de Granada, Spain.
2Sport Sciences Research Centre; Faculty of Education and Sport Sciences and Interdisciplinary Studies, Rey Juan Carlos University, Madrid, Spain.
J Behav Addict. 2025 Feb 18;14(1):501-521. doi: 10.1556/2006.2025.00010. Print 2025 Mar 28.
Emotion regulation strategies are central in models of gambling disorder. However, findings regarding the association between gambling-related problems and these strategies are mixed and mostly based on case-control studies with self-report measures.
This study examines associations of gambling problems' severity (SOGS) and gambling-related craving with strategic emotion-regulation (the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire [ERQ], an experimental reappraisal task, and task-related vagally-mediated heart rate variability [vmHRV]) in community gamblers. Bayesian correlations between all constructs of interest were computed; Bayesian ANOVAs were used to examine the course of vmHRV over time-on-task, and its sensitivity to predictive constructs; and Bayesian regressions to investigate whether gambling problems' severity predicted the use of ERQ strategies, and to determine if the effect of emotion regulation demands on vmHRV could be predicted from the SOGS score.
Correlations did not show reliable relationships of SOGS scores and craving with intentional emotion regulation. The dispositional use of reappraisal and suppression (ERQ) did not predict differences in gambling problems' severity or craving. SOGS and craving scores predicted neither performance in the cognitive reappraisal task, nor task-related vmHRV. However, SOGS and craving correlated with urgency, and suppression and positive urgency predicted a stronger impact of time-on-task on vmHRV, independently of severity.
These results show no reliable evidence of differences in emotion regulation strategies or their vmHRV correlates traceable to gambling problems' severity or craving, and thus challenge the widespread role of intentional emotion regulation in gambling-related problems. Implications regarding the prevalence of neurocognitive alterations in non-clinical gamblers are discussed.
情绪调节策略在赌博障碍模型中至关重要。然而，关于赌博相关问题与这些策略之间关联的研究结果并不一致，且大多基于采用自我报告测量方法的病例对照研究。
本研究考察了社区赌博者中赌博问题严重程度（南橡树赌博筛查量表[SOGS]）和与赌博相关的渴望与策略性情绪调节（情绪调节问卷[ERQ]、一项实验性重新评价任务以及与任务相关的迷走神经介导的心率变异性[vmHRV]）之间的关联。计算了所有感兴趣构念之间的贝叶斯相关性；使用贝叶斯方差分析来考察vmHRV在任务进行过程中的变化过程及其对预测构念的敏感性；使用贝叶斯回归来研究赌博问题严重程度是否能预测ERQ策略的使用情况，并确定情绪调节需求对vmHRV的影响是否可由SOGS分数预测。
相关性分析未显示SOGS分数和渴望与有意情绪调节之间存在可靠关系。重新评价和抑制（ERQ）的特质性使用并不能预测赌博问题严重程度或渴望程度的差异。SOGS和渴望分数既不能预测认知重新评价任务中的表现，也不能预测与任务相关的vmHRV。然而，SOGS和渴望与冲动性相关，并且抑制和积极冲动性预测了任务持续时间对vmHRV有更强的影响（独立于严重程度）。
这些结果表明，没有可靠证据表明可追溯到赌博问题严重程度或渴望的情绪调节策略或其vmHRV相关指标存在差异，因此对有意情绪调节在赌博相关问题中的广泛作用提出了挑战。文中讨论了非临床赌博者中神经认知改变患病率的相关影响。
