The article below tested the link between insecure attachment styles and gambling issues in a sample of Ontario adults with a mood disorder.

To read the full article, please visit:  https://www.sciencedirect.com/...6460317304276#bb0295

Sample: Adults (N = 275) diagnosed with a mood disorder (depression or bipolar disorder) within the past 10 years

Results: Individuals with anxious attachment styles had higher levels of depression symptoms. This predicted motivations to gamble as a coping mechanism, which also predicted greater severity of problem gambling. The same association was found for individuals with avoidant attachment styles.

Conclusions: Insecure attachments may lead to problematic gambling in individuals with depression, as a means of coping with mood.

Citation: Keough, M. T., Penniston, T. L., Vilhena-Churchill, N., Bagby, R. M., & Quilty, L. C. (2018). Depression symptoms and reasons for gambling sequentially mediate the associations between insecure attachment styles and problem gambling. Addictive Behaviors, 78, 166-172. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2017.11.018

Keywords: attachment; coping strategies; depression; emotions; gambling motivations; mood disorders