Stress is a risk factor for developing and maintaining problem gambling. People may gamble to escape from stress. Escape outcome expectancies refer to people’s expectations that gambling can help them escape from stress. The purpose of this study was to examine the links between stress, maladaptive coping, problem gambling, and escape outcome expectancies. The researchers recruited 240 Australians who were at least 18 years old through an online crowd sourcing site. Participants completed an online survey.
The findings show that escape outcome expectancies help explain the process through which stress leads to problem gambling. In other words, people who experience greater stress and expect that gambling can help them escape stress are more likely to experience problem gambling. The relationship between stress and escape outcome expectancies is stronger when maladaptive coping is high.
