Impulsivity, Cognitive Distortions, and Problem Gambling Among Spanish Adults Who Gamble: Exploring the Moderating...

Gambling self-efficacy is a key construct in understanding gambling behavior and behavior change. This study examined (i) differences between individuals with low and high gambling self-efficacy and (ii) tested whether gambling self-efficacy moderated the associations between impulsivity, gambling-related cognitive distortions, and problem gambling severity. Data were drawn from a cross-sectional web-based survey of 1429 Spanish adults aged 18-64. Analyses focused on the 921 who had engaged in gambling activities during the previous 12 months (mean age = 40 years, SD = 12.1, 52.2% men). Measures included sociodemographic characteristics, gambling self-efficacy (BSCQ-G), problem gambling severity (PGSI), impulsivity (UPPS-P), gambling-related cognitive distortions (Labrador's cognitive distortion scale), and gambling involvement indicators. Participants were classified into low (BSCQ-G < 80%; 51.5%; n = 474) and high (BSCQ-G ≥ 80%; 48.5%; n = 447) gambling self-efficacy groups. Individuals with low self-efficacy showed broader and more intensive gambling involvement, including greater participation in gambling-like activities, and higher scores on PGSI, impulsivity, and gambling-related cognitive distortions. In moderation models adjusted for gambling involvement indicators, the association between impulsivity and PGSI was weaker at higher levels of gambling self-efficacy, although the incremental variance explained was very small (ΔR² = 0.0024). The interaction between gambling self-efficacy and cognitive distortions was not statistically supported. These findings suggest that gambling self-efficacy is associated with gambling risk profiles among adults who gamble and may play a modest buffering role in the association between impulsivity and gambling severity.