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Abstract
Italy has experienced a rapid growth in gambling accessibility, expenditures and problems. Gambling-related cognitive distortions are established risk factors for disordered gambling, although little is known about the role of gambling-related cognitive distortions among Italians. To establish a valid tool for assessing these distortions, an Italian version of the Gamblers’ Beliefs Questionnaire (GBQ-I) was translated and psychometrically evaluated in a sample of 749. Eighty-five percent had gambled recently and 110 were identified as probable disordered gamblers. Good reliability, internal consistency and test-retest reliability were demonstrated. Concurrent, convergent and predictive validities also suggested that the GBQ-I is a valid and reliable measure for assessing gambling-related cognitive distortions among clinical and non-clinical Italian samples. Factor analysis explored the two-factor structure from the measures’ initial validation but was unable to replicate it. The validation of this translation of the GBQ allows for future cross-cultural research on the role of cognitive distortions in the study and treatment of gambling problems.
Acknowledgements
We especially thank Beth Fairfield and Stefano Pagliaro for their contribution to the translation process. We thank Ceis Pescara, Ser.T. Pescara, Fabrizio Mascitti, Valeria Orfanelli, Fabiola Quintili and Massimo Vasale for assistance in data collection. We also appreciate feedback on the manuscript for the members of the Institute for Gambling Education and Research.
Conflicts of interest
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Constraints on publishing
No constraints on publishing were reported by the authors.