Immigrants often experience acculturative stress, which has been linked to a higher risk of problem gambling. In this study, the researchers looked at the extent to which emotion regulation difficulties and beliefs that gambling can help escape negative emotions explain the relationship between acculturative stress and problem gambling. The researchers recruited 70 first- or second-generation immigrants living in Australia who had gambled at least once in the past year. Participants completed an online survey.
The researchers found that while acculturative stress initially predicted more severe problem gambling, this relationship weakened after accounting for emotion dysregulation. When escape motives were further considered, they became the strongest predictor of problem gambling. In other words, acculturative stress may contribute to problem gambling by increasing emotion regulation difficulties, which, in turn, foster the beliefs that gambling can help escape negative emotions.
The findings can inform problem gambling prevention and intervention efforts for immigrant populations. These could address acculturative stress, emotion regulation difficulties, and escape motives for gambling.
