The Relationship Between Problem Gambling, Adult Attachment, Difficulty in Emotion Regulation, and Recovery Capital: A Study of Lottery Gamblers in Chinese Mainland

Currently, there are over 200 million lottery gamblers in Chinese mainland; however, research on gambling addiction among gamblers in Chinese mainland is still a blank in the international addiction studies. This study aims to fill this gap by exploring the effects of adult attachment, difficulty in emotion regulation (DER), and recovery capital (RC) on problem gambling (PG) in Chinese lottery gamblers. The sample included 633 lottery gamblers (M_age = 28.55, SD = 11.64, 12.80% females) from Chinese mainland, and they were tested on the Scale of Assessing Problem Gambling, the Adult Attachment Scale, the Brief Version of the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale, and the Brief Assessment of Recovery Capital. Regression analysis showed that close-depend attachment played as a significant negative predictor of PG, and anxiety attachment played as a significant positive predictor of PG. Mediation analysis revealed that DER served as a mediator in the relationship between adult attachment and PG. Moderated mediation analysis suggests that RC can moderate the effect of adult attachment on PG, and it can also moderate the effect of DER on PG. This study contributes a sample of lottery gamblers in Chinese mainland to current international gambling research and explains the relationship between gamblers’ psychological factors and gambling behavior from a new perspective, which is helpful to offer theoretical support for the prevention and intervention of PG.