Assessment of problem gambling: the Italian versions of the Gambling Urge Scale (GUS) and Gambling Functional Assessment-Revised (GFA-R)
Emanuele Fino, Paolo Iliceto, Mauro Schiavella
In Italy, problem gambling is a condition of significant importance from a public health perspective. The onset, development and maintenance of problem gambling are mainly attributable to a series of individual, erroneous perceptions, known in the literature as gambling related cognitions. The latter correlate both with the urge to gamble and with the functions of gambling as positive reinforcement and escape. Recently, two scales that are already available and used in other cultural contexts have been translated in Italian and validated in Italian samples, such as the Gambling Urge Scale (GUS), assessing gambling urge, and the Gambling Functional Assessment-Revised (GFA-R), assessing functions of gambling. The aim of the present paper is to illustrate the psychometric properties of the scales and provide materials and instructions for their correct use in the Italian context.
Keywords
Gambling, Urge, Reinforcement, Functional assessment, Scale.
