Decision making under risk and pathological gambling in older adults

Although previous research has suggested that decision making deficits characterized pathological gamblers, this relationship has not been yet investigated among older adults. Our study was aimed at investigating the role of decision-making under risk on pathological gambling in people aged 65 years and over by controlling for their cognitive functioning. Participants were 54 older adults (100% males, age range: 65-89 years, Mean age=74.29, SD=6.49) attending recreational clubs in Italy. The Game of Dice Task (GDT) was used to measure risky decision making, and the Canadian Problem Gambilng Index (CPGI) was administered to relieve pathological gambling. Older adults’ cognitive functioning was measured with the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). To investigate the effect of risky decision making on pathological gambling, an ANOVA was conducted using the CPGI score as the dependent variable and risky decision making category, i.e., Non-risk decision makers, Low-risk decision makers, and High-risk decision makers, as the independent variable. Controlling for cognitive functioning, results showed a significant effect of risky decision making category (F(2,41)=3.84, p<.05, η²=.16). In detail, the CPGI score of High-risk decision makers was significantly higher (p<.001) than that obtained by Non-risk decision makers. This study suggests that the tendency to make disadvantageous choices in a situation of decision making under risk could make older adults more at-risk for the occurrence of problematic behaviors related to gambling.