Retrospective and prospective reports of precipitants to relapse in pathological gambling.

A prospective design was used to explore the precipitants of relapse in a naturalistic sample of pathological gamblers (N = 101) who had recently quit gambling. Relapse rates were high; only 8% were entirely free of gambling during the 12-month follow-up. Relapses were highly variable but occurred most frequently in the evening, when the person was alone and thinking about finances. Moods prior to the gambling were as likely to be positive as negative. The most frequently reported attributions, particularly for major relapses, were cognitions about winning and feeling the need to make money, unlike substance abuse relapses that tend to be attributed to negative affect. Some gender differences were found, but the precipitants of shorter and longer relapses did not differ.