The Association between Gambling Motives and Problem Gambling Severity: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Abstract

Purpose of reviewThis systematic review and meta-analysis examined the strength of associations between gambling motives and problem gambling severity.Recent findingsDespite previous reviews highlighting the importance of gambling motives, none have synthesized evidence across all validated measures and sample types.SummaryA systematic search of peer-reviewed literature (1993-2025) identified 63 studies (66 articles), with 53 studies (54 articles) included in meta-analyses of 15 validated motives subscales. With the exception of the Intrinsic-Motivation Toward Knowledge subscale of the Gambling Motivation Scale, all motive subscales demonstrated significant positive associations with problem gambling severity, with effect sizes ranging from small (r=0.21) to large (r=0.53). Overlapping confidence intervals across subscales indicate that gambling motives should be viewed as interrelated contributors to problem gambling severity. Findings were generally consistent when analyses were restricted to studies using unadjusted data and those rated as strong-moderate for risk of bias. While there were insufficient estimates to conduct subgroup analyses for several study and sample characteristics (i.e., sample gender, study design, sample type, and sampling type), exploratory meta-regressions suggested that sample size contributed to heterogeneity for specific motives, whereas problem gambling severity measure did not. These findings have implications for the development of targeted, motivation informed prevention and intervention efforts.