Hopelessness in gambling disorder: relationship to attachment and emotional regulation difficulties in young adults

There has been a significant increase in the prevalence of gambling disorder among young adults in
recent years. Several determinants are involved, such as hopelessness, which could be related to
attachment and emotional regulation. Therefore, the objectives of the study were to analyze the
relationship between hopelessness, attachment and positive and negative emotional regulation, as
well as to analyze the association of attachment and emotional regulation with hopelessness. The
sample consisted of 83 participants from the clinical population, i.e., with a gambling disorder, of
whom 77 were male and 6 females with ages ranging from 18 to 30 years (M = 24.83; SD = 3.80).
The results obtained suggest that hopelessness would decrease as maternal attachment would
increase. Likewise, hopelessness would increase in parallel with difficulties in emotional regulation
based on catastrophizing and the tendency to blame others. In turn, negative maternal attachment
and emotional regulation based on blaming others were associated with hopelessness. These
results reveal the importance of addressing the use of emotional regulation strategies based on
catastrophizing and the tendency to blame others in young adults with a gambling disorder, as well
as considering maternal attachment as a protective factor for this problem. These findings favor
interventions aimed at the prevention and intervention of problem gambling in young adults.