Abstract: Executive functioning (EF) is a multi-faceted construct important to activities of daily living, emotion regulation, and higher-order thinking and is often impaired in individuals with gambling disorder and/or alcohol use disorders. Deficits in EF are associated with poor treatment engagement, psychiatric comorbidities, and relapse. The present study examined EF in college students (N = 832) aged 18-24 (M= 19.23, SD=1.37, 76.5% Women) in relation to gambling and hazardous drinking. The Barkley’s Deficits in Executive Functioning was used to assess for global EF and 5 facets of EF: Time Management, Organization/Problem Solving, Self-Restraint, Self-Motivation, and Emotion-Regulation. Bivariate correlation and ANOVA analyses were conducted. Approximately 3% of college students reported problem gambling and 20% reported engagement in hazardous drinking. Compared to individuals with non-problem drinking and non-problem gambling: (1) individuals with problem gambling had worse global EF, self-restraint, emotion regulation, and self-motivation, (2) individuals with hazardous drinking had worse Global EF, self-restraint, and emotion regulation and (3) individuals with both problem gambling and hazardous drinking had worse EF on self-restraint.
Implications: Impairments in several domains of EF (e.g., inhibition/self-restraint, emotion regulation, and self-motivation) were endorsed at a significantly higher rate among problematic gamblers and hazardous drinkers. Results partially support the pathways model of gambling (Blaszcynski & Nower, 2002) and support transdiagnostic prevention and intervention efforts around emotion regulation, motivation, and impulsivity
