Supervisors info:
Αναγνωστόπουλος Δημήτριος, Ομότιμος Καθηγητής, Ιατρική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Παπαρρηγόπουλος Θωμάς, Καθηγητής, Ιατρική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Τριανταφύλλου Καλλιόπη, Επιστημονική συνεργάτις, Ιατρική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Translated title:
The relationship of adverse childhood experiences and gambling disorder: The role of depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms
Summary:
Introduction: Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) describe adversity that has
occurred before adulthood and is related to neglect, abuse, and certain dysfunctions within
the family.
Purpose: This study investigates the relationship between ACEs and gambling
disorder, as well as the role of symptoms of Depression, Anxiety and Stress in mediating this
relationship.
Methodology: A cross-sectional study was carried out from November 2023 to
January 2024 on a sample of 106 people. The clinical sample consisted of 53 people (49 men,
4 women, mean=41.4 years, SD=9.3 years) who had turned to gambling rehabilitation
programs. Specifically, to the therapeutic unit of KETHEA Alpha, to the department of
problematic internet use and gambling disorder of 18 Ano as well as to the self-help group of
Gamblers Anonymous in Athens. The control group consisted of 53 subjects (49 men, 4
women, mean=41.6 years, SD=8.8 years) from the general population, of the same age and
gender as the clinical group. The questionnaires administered to both groups were: the
Problem Gambling Severity Index, the Lie/Bet Questionnaire, the Depression, Anxiety and
Stress Scale-21, the Adverse Childhood Experiences Questionnaire, while a questionnaire on
new forms of ACEs and a demographic questionnaire were administered.
Results: 73.6% of the people in the clinical group met the criteria for pathological
gambling, compared to 11.8% for the general population. The clinical group reported more
ACEs with a mean value of 2.4 points (SD=2.2 points), compared to the group from the
general population where the mean value was 1.9 points (SD=1.0 points). Also, there seemed
to be some differences between the groups about the type of ACEs they reported. The cases
that differed significantly were living with a family member with mental illness, with a
positive rate for the clinical group of 34% versus 15.1% for the general population group
(p=0.024), physical violence by peers with rates of 15.1% and 0% respectively (p=0.012) and
verbal violence by peers with rates of 34% and 22.6% respectively (p=0.044). Finally,
subjects in the clinical group had a higher mean score on the Depression, Anxiety and
Stress-21 Scale equal to 18.2 points (SD=14.8 points), compared to the general population for
whom the average score was 13.2 points (SD=11.0 points).
Conclusions: The present study is a first attempt to capture the relationship between
Gambling Disorder and childhood adversity and the symptoms of depression, anxiety and
stress. All the above issues are related to public health and the resulting findings confirm that
individuals in the clinical group showed higher scores on all of the above scales. Therefore, it
is beneficial to conduct more studies in order to understand, prevent and treat ACEs in the
context of gambling problems.
Keywords:
Gambling, Trauma, ACEs, Prevalence, Comorbidity
