Initial Thoughts on Modelling Impaired Self-Control: Key Variables

Cornish's (1978) influential review of gambling proposed that a person's initial choice of a gambling product was a function of a variety of factors including availability, prior knowledge from parental gambling and serendipity. The opportunity to sample a wide range of gambling products might today be added for those jurisdictions where most gambling products are legalised. Cornish envisaged that the change, should it occur, to regular consumption of a particular form of gambling, was associated with a process of person–product adaptations as the individual learnt to use the gambling to satisfy current needs.

In this chapter the primary focus remains on regular gamblers, and in selecting psychological variables that may contribute to the process of maintaining or losing control, we have not considered the factors that may determine a person's initial choice of gambling product. It must be accepted that some of the variables that influence this “first” choice may also be significant in determining the extent to which an individual experiences impaired control over their gambling. An obvious example is when parental modelling by a problem gambler may not only determine both their child's choice of gambling product, but also their level of self-control over how much they gamble.

A Developmental Perspective on Impaired Control of Gambling

There is evidence that problem gamblers may start their involvement with gambling during adolescence, sometimes as young as 9 or 10 years of age (Custer, 1982; Derevensky et al., 1996; Wynne et al., 1996), raising concerns about their long-term well-being.