Is the Gambling Motives Questionnaire really three-dimensional? A proposition of a four-dimensional Gambling Motives Questionnaire - Revised

•Factor analyses showed that the GMQ was better represented as a 4-factor structure.•The new fourth motivational factor was labeled self-gratification.•Self-gratification and coping motives were associated with loss of control.•Self-gratification was associated with gambling problems.•The GMQ-R seems to be a reliable and valid instrument.

The aim of the present study was to improve the weaknesses of the three-dimensional Gambling Motives Questionnaire and to examine the psychometric properties and factor structure of the Gambling Motives Questionnaire-Revised. The Gambling Motives Questionnaire was administered to a sample of 418 gamblers (92% men, mean age 19.5 years). Participants completed the Gambling Motives Questionnaire and an additional item tapping boredom, as well as a variety of measures of gambling behavior and gambling problems as criterion measures. Results showed that the Gambling Motives Questionnaire-Revised is better represented as a four-factor structure tapping the following four gambling motives factors; enhancement, coping, social, and self-gratification, Δχ2 Δ(df) = 24.76 (3), p < 0.001. Removing two problematic items from the Gambling Motives Questionnaire and adding an extra item tapping boredom also improved the fit of the Gambling Motives Questionnaire-Revised. The subscales enhancement, social, and coping were all significant predictors of variety of gambling behaviors (p < 0.05), whereas enhancement, coping, and self-gratification predicted frequency of gambling behaviors (p < 0.01). Coping and self-gratification predicted loss of control (p < 0.01), whereas self-gratification predicted gambling problems (p < 0.001). The Gambling Motives Questionnaire - Revised, consisting of the four dimensions enhancement motives, social motives, coping motives and self-gratification motives, is a reliable and valid instrument to measuring gambling motives.