http://igi.camh.net/doi/pdf/10.4309/jgi.2018.39.12
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4309/jgi.2018.39.12

Journal of Gambling Issues
Issue 39, September 2018

brief report
Financially Focused Self-Concept Is Associated With
Etiological and Maintenance Factors of Gambling Disorder
Among Non-Problem Gamblers
Nassim Tabri,1 Michael J.A. Wohl,1 Richard T. Wood,2 & Kahlil Philander3

Department of Psychology, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
GamRes Limited, Hawkesbury, Ontario, Canada
School of Hospitality Business Management, Carson College of Business, Washington
State University, Everett, Washington, USA

Abstract
We examined associations between ﬁnancially focused self-concept and known
etiological and maintenance factors of problematic gambling in a sample of
community-based gamblers (N = 412). Although most participants (95.6%) did not
report gambling problems, those high in ﬁnancial focus were more likely to be
impulsive, to be dissatisﬁed with their ﬁnancial situation, to believe that they have a
poor ability to cope with adversity in their life, and to have erroneous beliefs about
gambling. The magnitude of these associations was moderate. The etiological risk
and maintenance factors explained unique variance in ﬁnancially focused selfconcept. Thus, the results provide novel insight into the characteristics of ﬁnancially
focused gamblers.
Keywords: Gambling, gambling beliefs, impulsivity, money, self-concept, selfefﬁcacy
Résumé
Nous avons examiné les associations entre le concept de soi d’un point de vue
ﬁnancier et les facteurs étiologiques et de maintien connus du jeu problématique dans
un échantillon de joueurs communautaires (N = 412). Bien que la plupart des
participants (95,6%) n’aient pas déclaré avoir de problèmes de jeu, ceux qui
accordaient beaucoup d’importance à l’aspect ﬁnancier étaient plus susceptibles
d’être impulsifs, insatisfaits de leur situation ﬁnancière, croyaient avoir une faible
capacité à affronter l’adversité dans leur vie et avaient des croyances erronées sur
les jeux d’argent. L’importance de ces associations était modérée. Les facteurs
étiologiques de risque et de maintien ont expliqué la seule variance du concept de soi

d’un point de vue ﬁnancier. Ainsi, les résultats fournissent un nouvel aperc¸u des
caractéristiques des joueurs ayant une image axée sur les ﬁnances.

Introduction
Growing evidence suggests that some gamblers may have a ﬁnancially focused selfconcept (FFS; Tabri, Wohl, Eddy, & Thomas, 2017). That is, they view their
ﬁnancial success as a core aspect of their self-concept and thus as a major source of
self-worth (e.g., ‘‘How I feel about myself is largely based on the amount of money
I have’’). Critically, ﬁnancially focused gamblers are more likely to be irresponsible
gamblers (Wood, Wohl, Tabri, & Philander, 2017) and to have gambling problems
(Tabri, Wohl et al., 2017). They may also be more vulnerable to developing gambling
problems because of their greater tendency to delay-discount monetary rewards (i.e.,
the preference for smaller immediate rewards relative to larger delayed rewards)
in response to feeling ﬁnancially deprived (Tabri, Shead, & Wohl, 2017). Together,
these ﬁndings suggest that FFS may play a pernicious role in the development and
maintenance of disordered gambling.
Herein, we extended the literature on FFS and gambling by examining links between
FFS and key factors identiﬁed as playing a role in the etiology and maintenance
of disordered gambling (Blaszczynski & Nower, 2002). The factors we examined
in the current research included ﬁnancial dissatisfaction, perceived self-inefﬁcacy in
coping with difﬁculties in life and attaining goals, trait impulsivity, and erroneous
gambling beliefs. We expected that FFS would be positively associated with these
aforementioned factors. We also expected that these factors would each explain
unique variance in FFS above and beyond disordered gambling severity.
To test our hypotheses, we conducted a secondary analysis of data from players
who gamble with a Canadian provincial gaming provider—the British Columbia
Lottery Corporation.
Method
Participants, procedure, and materials
Participants were 412 people who gambled at least once in the preceding month.1
They completed the short-form FFS Scale (Tabri, Wohl, et al., 2017), the InCharge
Financial Distress/Financial Well-Being Scale (Prawitz et al., 2006), the General

The data reported were collected as part of a large-scale study (see Wood et al., 2017). However, the
associations examined in the current research were not reported in the original study. For more
information about the method, see Wood et al. (2017; Study 3).

Perceived Self-Efﬁcacy Questionnaire (Schwarzer & Jerusalem, 1995), the short-form
Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (Spinella, 2007), the Gambling Beliefs Questionnaire
(Steenbergh, Meyers, May, & Whelan, 2002), and the Problem Gambling Severity
Index (PGSI; Ferris & Wynne, 2001).
Results
Descriptive statistics and correlations for all variables are reported in Table 1. The
total PGSI score showed that most participants (n = 394; 95.6%) were non-problem
gamblers (i.e., a score of ‘‘0’’ on the PGSI) and few (n = 18) were low- to high-risk
gamblers (i.e., PGSI scores ranging from 1 to 17). As expected, FFS was negatively
associated with ﬁnancial satisfaction and general perceived self-efﬁcacy and was
positively associated with impulsivity, beliefs in luck, and beliefs in control over
gambling outcomes. The magnitude of these associations was moderate.
Because FFS and all other variables in Table 1 were intercorrelated, we examined
whether ﬁnancial satisfaction, general perceived self-efﬁcacy, and impulsivity accounted
for unique variance in FFS. To accomplish this, we conducted a linear regression
analysis with FFS as the dependent variable. All other variables reported in Table 1
were included as predictors. Notably, the Breusch-Pagan (Lagrange multiplier [LM] =
11.84, p = .037) and Koenker (LM = 13.42, p = .02) tests indicated the presence of
heteroskedasticity. Thus, Huber-White robust SEs were used to assess the statistical
signiﬁcance of each predictor. The predictors collectively accounted for close to 30%
of the variance in FFS, R2 = .27, F(5, 406) = 29.99, p o .001, which is a large effect
(see Table 2). Financial satisfaction and perceived general self-efﬁcacy were each
unique negative predictors of FFS. PGSI, impulsivity, and beliefs in luck were each
unique positive predictors of FFS. Lastly, belief in having control over gambling
outcomes did not uniquely predict FFS (see Table 2).
Discussion
The ﬁndings extend prior research in two ways. First, they provide novel insight into
the characteristics of ﬁnancially focused gamblers. Gamblers high in ﬁnancial focus
Table 1
Descriptive Statistics and Correlations Between All Measured Variables (N = 412).
Variable
1. Financially focused self-concept
2. Financial satisfaction
3. General self-efﬁcacy
4. Impulsivity
5. GBQ-Luck subscale
6. GBQ-Control subscale

M (SD)

1.73 (0.60)
7.57 (2.10)
3.20 (0.37)
1.92 (0.40)
19.81 (9.43)
17.23 (8.70)

—
-0.41**
-0.31**
0.35**
0.31**
0.21**

—
0.28**
-0.41**
-0.26**
-0.17**

—
-0.37**
-0.13**
-0.03

—
0.25**
0.15**

—
0.64**

Note. GBQ = Gambling Beliefs Questionnaire.
**p o .01.

Table 2
Results of a Linear Regression Analysis Examining Predictors of Financially Focused
Self-Concept (N = 412).
Predictor
1. Financial satisfaction
2. General self-efﬁcacy
3. Impulsivity
4. GBQ-Luck subscale
5. GBQ-Control subscale

B (SE)

95% CIB

b

-0.075 (0.014)**
-0.260 (0.071)**
0.210 (0.073)**
0.011 (0.004)**
0.002 (0.018)

[-0.104, -0.046]
[-0.400, -0.120]
[0.066, 0.355]
[0.003, 0.019]
[-0.005, 0.009]

-0.262
-0.163
0.142
0.170
0.027

Note. CI = conﬁdence interval; GBQ = Gambling Beliefs Questionnaire. Huber-White robust SEs were used to determine
statistical signiﬁcance.
**p o .01.

(compared with those low in ﬁnancial focus) were more likely to be impulsive, to be
dissatisﬁed with their ﬁnancial situation, to perceive that they have a poor ability
to cope with adversity in their life, and to have erroneous beliefs about gambling.
These results complement research showing that ﬁnancially focused gamblers are
more likely to have gambling problems, to feel ﬁnancially deprived, to have low
global self-esteem, and to delay-discount monetary rewards, as well as to be more
materialistic, neurotic, and perfectionistic and less conscientious and extraverted
(Tabri, Shead, & Wohl, 2017; Tabri, Werner, Milyavskaya, & Wohl, 2018; Tabri,
Wohl, et al., 2017).
Second, the ﬁndings show that FFS is related to, but distinct from, an array of known
etiological and maintenance factors of gambling disorder examined in the current
research. Speciﬁcally, trait impulsivity, general self-inefﬁcacy, ﬁnancial dissatisfaction, and erroneous gambling beliefs each explained unique variance in FFS and
collectively explained a large portion of variance in FFS. These results suggest that
gamblers high in ﬁnancial focus (relative to those low in ﬁnancial focus) may be at
greater risk for developing gambling problems. Thus, because almost all participants
in the present research were non-problem gamblers, future research should examine
whether corresponding associations are observed among disordered gamblers and
whether FFS prospectively predicts the development of disordered gambling.
References
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*******
Submitted July 7, 2017; accepted December 9, 2017. This article was peer reviewed.
All URLs were available at the time of submission.
For correspondence: Nassim Tabri, PhD, Department of Psychology, Carleton
University, Ottawa, ON, Canada. E-mail: nassim.tabri@carleton.ca
Competing interests: In the interest of transparency, the large-scale study from
which the current study (ﬁnancial focus and risk/maintenance factors of disordered
gambling) stems was funded by the British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC).
The third author (Wood) has conducted previous consultancy work for BCLC.
The fourth author (Philander) previously worked for BCLC. Notably, however,
in conducting the current study, we were given full consent to investigate, analyze,
and report all ﬁndings that the authors perceived to be relevant for understanding
ﬁnancially focused players-BCLC did not have a role in determining the aims and

outcomes of the current study. Therefore, we do not consider there to be conﬂict of
interest between the authors of this manuscript and the funders of the research.
Ethics approval: This study used secondary de-identiﬁed data.
Acknowledgements: This research was funded by British Columbia Lottery
Corporation.