Fast or slow: applying life history strategies to responsible gambling adherence

ABSTRACT

From the evolutionary perspective, life history (LH) strategies have been used to account for individual differences in behaviors and traits such as impulsivity, sensation seeking, and risk-taking propensity. The present study aimed to extend the application of LH strategies based on the psychometric approach to study individual differences in endorsing protective gambling beliefs and adopting responsible gambling (RG) behaviors. We conducted a telephone survey in Macao, China, and acquired a community-dwelling Chinese adult sample (N = 697) with the two-stage cluster random sampling method. Regression analyses showed that individuals with slower LH strategies displayed higher levels of protective gambling beliefs and RG behaviors. As hypothesized, protective gambling beliefs demonstrated a positive association with RG behaviors; furthermore, we found its partial mediating effect on the relationship between LH strategies and RG behaviors. Our findings suggested that one could take LH strategies into account in understanding individual differences in adopting RG behaviors and designing tailored measures to promote RG adherence. The present study also highlighted the effect of protective gambling beliefs in exploring the underlying mechanism of the link between LH strategies and RG behaviors, pointing to a potential avenue in fostering protective gambling beliefs to further increase RG adherence.

KEYWORDS:

• Life history theory
• Mini-K
• gambling disorder
• protective gambling beliefs
• responsible gambling

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Constraints on publishing

No constraints on publishing were declared by the authors in relation to this manuscript.

Competing interests

No competing interests were declared by the authors in relation to this manuscript.

Preregistration statement

No preregistration was declared by the authors in relation to this manuscript.

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, [Kwok Kit Tong], upon reasonable request.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Research Grant of the University of Macau [MYRG2020-00115-FSS]; Research Grant of the University of Macau [MYRG2020-00106-FSS].

Notes on contributors

Mu He

Mu He, Doctoral student, Department of Psychology, University of Macau, Macao, China

Juliet Honglei Chen

Juliet Honglei Chen, Postdoctoral associate, Centre for Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Institute of Collaborative Innovation, University of Macau, Macao, China

Anise M. S. Wu

Anise M. S. Wu, Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Macau, Macao, China

Kwok Kit Tong

Kwok Kit Tong, Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Macau, Macao, China.