Pathological gambling and sensation seeking–How do gamblers playing games of chance in cafés differ from those who bet on horses at the racetrack?

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to study the sensation seeking personality trait in two groups of French pathological gamblers: one group who play games available in cafés (n = 57) and one group who bet on horses at the racetrack (n = 42). Sensation seeking was measured with the Zuckerman's Sensation Seeking Scale; intensity of gambling behavior with the South Oaks Gambling Screen and the DSM-IV criteria of pathological gambling. Pathological gamblers who bet at the racetracks had significantly higher scores on Sensation Seeking than those who play games available in cafés. These findings are consistent with the idea of identifying clinically distinct subgroups of gamblers essential in the treatment pathological gambling. One subtype is made of those who play “active” games who gamble for the arousal produced by the game. The second subtype would be one made up of those who play “passive” games who gamble to avoid unpleasant emotional states.

• Pathological gambling
• sensation seeking
• passive games
• active games