Impulsivity, Consciousness and Defense Mechanisms of the Ego Among Pathological Gamblers

Pathological gambling is a growing health problem in Romania, recognized in DSM V (2013) as a form of psychopathology included in the category of addictions. This study aims to find out whether there are differences between gamblers and the control group among the dependent variables (impulsivity, conscientiousness, and defense mechanisms). According to the literature, impulsivity and low conscientiousness are specific features to pathological gamblers. A second goal is to check if there are one or more defense mechanisms defining gamblers. A recent study (Waqas et al., Waqas et al., Psychiatry Research 243:463-468, 2016) about the association of defense mechanisms and the problematic use of the Internet identified the following defense mechanisms: projection, denial, passive aggression, and movement. The present study questionnaire consists of four sections: a) The impulsivity questionnaire (Eysenk et al., Eysenck et al., Personality and Individual Differences 6:613-619, 1985), b) Defense Style Questionnaire-40, c) C-NEO (only the items related to the Conscientiousness factor) and d) SOGS (South Oaks Gambling Screen) test. This questionnaire was applied to 40 gamblers in the full version, and the control group was given the same questionnaire apart from the SOGS test. All data were analyzed in SPSS v20. The research results show that pathological gamblers have higher impulsivity than the control group, their defense mechanisms are predominantly neurotic and immature and their conscientiousness is significantly lower than the control group.