Ricerc@Sapienza

Since its introduction in 1977, self-ef?cacy has proven to be a fundamental predictor of positive adjustment and achievement in many domains. In problem gambling studies, self-ef?cacy has been de?ned mainly as an individual’s ability to avoid gambling in risky situations. The interest in this construct developed mainly with regard to treatment approaches, where abstinence from gambling is required. Very little is known, however, regarding self-ef?cacy as a protective factor for problem gambling. This study aims to ?ll this gap, proposing a new self-ef?cacy scale which measures not only the ability to restrainoneselffromgamblingbutalsotheabilitytoself-regulateone’sgamblingbehavior. Two studies were conducted in which the data from two Italian prevalence surveys on problem gambling were considered. A total of about 6,000 participants were involved. In the ?rst study, the psychometric characteristics of this new self-ef?cacy scale were investigated through exploratory and con?rmatory factor analyses. The results indicated the presence of two different factors: self-ef?cacy in self-regulating gambling behavior and self-ef?cacy in avoiding risky gambling behavior. The second study con?rmed the replicability of the two-factor solution and displayed high correlations among these two self-ef?cacy dimensions and different measures of gambling activities as well as other psychological variables related to gambling (gambling beliefs, gambling motivation, risk propensity, and impulsiveness). The results of logistic regression analyses showed the particular importance of self-regulating gaming behavior in explaining problem gambling as measured by Problem Gambling Severity Index and South Oaks Gambling Screen, thus proving the role of self-ef?cacy as a pivotal protective factor for problem gambling.