Investigation of attitudes toward gambling with implicit association test and self-reported measures

Attitudes towards gambling have been mostly measured with explicit methods, although it has been stated that explicit attitude measures could have significant limitations due to the social desirability. The aim of research is to identify the valence of attitudes to gambling using implicit and explicit measurements in none-problem social gamblers, who regularly visit gaming establishments and people who do not go to the gaming establishments. Methods: Single-Category IAT; Breen and Zuckermans Gambling Attitudes and Beliefs Scale (GABS). Sample 50 participants. Age 18-45 (Me=31,5). Groups: Gamblers - casino visitors at least once a week, non-problem social gamblers - 25 and Non-Gamblers - 25. Results: GABS measures of attitudes expose that the attitudes to gambling level in the group Gamblers exceeds the attitudes to gambling level in the group Non-Gamblers. The positive and negative attitudes toward gambling have been identified, measured with the help of SC-IAT, in both groups. It has been shown that the severity of implicit positive and negative attitudes in both groups is the same. The maximum percentage of the coincidences of the attitudes toward gambling gained with GABS and IAT are 52%. Conclusion: It is possible that the presence of negative attitudes toward gambling can provide a possibility to non-problematic social gamblers to overcome gambling addiction