From Habit to Addiction: A Study in Online Gambling Behavior

Transcription

1 From Habit to Addiction: A Study in Online Gambling Behavior European Association for the Study of Gambling 8 th European Conference September 2010 Bill Jolley, Ph.D. Norwich University Deborah Black, MD University of Vermont

2 Research Aim and Hypothesis AIM: To enhance societal welfare by the pre-identification of at-risk gamblers using predictive behavioral markers. PREMISE: Behavioral addiction is a pathological form of habit. HYPOTHESIS: Increased levels of the neurobiological trait of impulsivity will have a significant moderating effect on the predictability and level of behavioral addiction (Bechara et al., 2009). RESEARCH VENUE: Online slot machine betting

3 Predictors of Gambling Addiction Addiction Risk Problem Gamblers Gambling Habit Recreational Gamblers Intervention At Risk Gamblers Addiction Risk Neurobiological Marker of Addiction

4 Theoretical Background Habits are sequential, repetitive, motor, or cognitive behaviors elicited by external or internal triggers that can go to completion without constant conscious oversight (Graybiel 2008). Impulsivity is a predisposition toward rapid, unplanned reactions without regard to the negative consequences and is the neurobiological trait most consistently linked to addiction (Moeller, Barratt et al. 2001). Addictive gambling is a series of impulsive choices... whereby the problem gambler more frequently selects the smaller, more probable immediate opportunity to obtain money... resulting in more disadvantageous outcomes. (Petry and Casarella 1999).

5 Hypothesized Model Impulsivity Iowa Gambling Task Habitual Behavior Sessions/days logged in Buy-In Amount Addictive Outcomes Amount Bet Won/Lost Duration

6 The Iowa Gambling Task (Bechara et al. 1994) Net score equals choices from advantageous decks minus choices from disadvantageous decks out of 100. High negative net scores indicate an impulsivity disorder where subjects make more choices that are disadvantageous.

7 Research Design Choice of 4 different slot games Open 24/7 to university students only February to May cash prize winners Leader Board ranking determined prize amount 500 credits free, then 250 more credits for 2 hours of university / community service To our knowledge, this is the first prospective, online study of the effects of habit-inducing game characteristics and impulsivity on gambling behavior.

8 ecasinoland Landing Page

9 ecasinoland Game Page

10 The Sample 155 students registered 80% male; 83.9% had gambled in past year 118 (76.1%) bet at least once Students Registered Calendar Days

11 Sequence of Play Days Logged In (n = 118) Number of Bets (n = 118)

12 IGT scores Median was -2.0 Cutoff for impulsive disorder < 10 (Bechara et al. 2004) Kolmogorov-Smimov =.039

13 Impulsivity Did Not Effect the LEVEL of Play There were NO significant differences between high and low impulsivity groups on any of the addictive gambling behavior measures!

14 IGT score and Playing Frequency

15 Interaction of Frequency & Buy In Frequency 0.443* 0.587* Addictive Behavioral Outcomes Buy In 0.681* R 2 = 0.64 *Significant at p=0.05 level Global Path Model Results support the hypothesis that gambling habit (defined by frequency and buy-in) is a predictor of addictive behavioral outcomes.

16 Moderation Effects of Impulsivity Using the IGT median net score of -2 to test the moderation hypothesis produced two models with strong measurement reliability and strong construct validity, convergent validity and discriminant validity. However: There were no significant differences between impulsivity groups in the models hypothesized relationships (path coefficients). But, there was a significant reduction in models prediction quality (R 2 ).

17 Low Impulsivity Frequency 0.05 Interaction of Frequency & Buy In Buy In 0.714* 0.283* Addictive Behavioral Outcomes R 2 = 0.85 Interaction of Frequency & Buy In High Impulsivity Frequency Buy In 0.86* Addictive Gambling Outcomes R 2 = 0.58

18 Paradox or conundrum? Impulsivity did not affect the level of addictive behavioral outcomes as hypothesized. But it did affect the ability to predict them. Therefore, we concluded that while impulsivity was not associated with more disadvantageous choices, it may have impaired the ability to make consistent choices.

19 Why the contrary results? Reward Deficiency hypothesis: Highly impulsive individuals may require stronger stimuli (higher entertainment value ) to develop a persistent habit. Insufficient sample of players at the levels necessary to detect differences in behavior based on impulsivity. Impulsivity is a risk factor in substance addiction, but this is the first study to examine the predictive value of the IGT in gambling behavior. Impulsivity is not one-dimensional nor is it the only neurobiological factor related to addiction.