Investigating Several Factors Potentially Related to Endorsing Gambling as an Escape

Previous research has suggested that gambling as an escape is strongly related to disordered gambling. The present study tested whether factors related to disordered gambling were predictive of endorsing gambling as an escape. Three hundred eleven adults from the United States completed several measures of gambling and questionnaires on alcohol expectancies, emotion-regulation strategies, social-adjustment level, and sensation seeking. Consistent with previous research, endorsing gambling as an escape was strongly associated with reporting of gambling problems. Drinking as a coping mechanism and several emotion-regulation strategies were significant predictors of endorsing gambling as an escape. However, levels of social adjustment and sensation seeking were not predictive of gambling as an escape. The present results suggest that escape may be a higher-order factor that links substance abuse and disordered gambling. Likewise, they suggest that endorsing gambling as an escape is rooted in affect. As such, the results are informative to both researchers and practitioners.