ABSTRACT
Male pathological gamblers entering a comprehensive treatment program were followed-up for twelve months after treatment completion. Twelve month follow-up was obtained for 45 of the 66 patients entering treatment. Total abstinence was reported by 55% (n=25) of the patients located for twelve month follow-up. A relationship was found between abstinence at six month follow-up and selected subscales of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, performance scale. The implications of these findings for sub-typing gamblers are discussed.
Subject(s)
Gambling/psychology , Internal-External Control , Psychotherapy , Adult , Depressive Disorder/psychology , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Psychological Tests , Risk-TakingABSTRACT
Pathological gamblers entering a comprehensive treatment program were thoroughly assessed before treatment and 6 months after completion of treatment. The reports of gamblers and collateral informants were highly consistent. Follow-up interviews were conducted with 57 of the 66 patients entering treatment. Total abstinence was reported by 56% (N = 32) of the patients located for follow-up, and significant improvement on a wide range of measures was documented. The authors feel that the results demonstrate that pathological gambling is a treatable mental disorder.
Subject(s)
Disruptive, Impulse Control, and Conduct Disorders/therapy , Gambling/psychology , Hospitalization , Adult , Aged , Disruptive, Impulse Control, and Conduct Disorders/psychology , Follow-Up Studies , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care , Prospective Studies , Psychiatric Status Rating Scales , Risk-Taking , Self-Help GroupsABSTRACT
Major traumatic events were discovered in the histories of 23% of pathological gamblers seeking hospital treatment. These high-trauma patients were compared with groups of gambler patients who had experienced insignificant, low, or moderate amounts of life trauma. High-trauma patients tended, as measured by standard psychometrics, to be more depressed, anxious, and avoidant in personality style; they were also more likely to be abusing alcohol or other drugs. In their discussion the authors focus on the concept of learned dysthymia, a chronic state of negative affect related to cumulative life trauma and seemingly instrumental in potentiating addictive euphoria.
Subject(s)
Gambling/psychology , Stress, Psychological/psychology , Adult , Aged , Humans , Middle Aged , Psychiatric Status Rating Scales , Psychometrics , Risk-Taking , Wounds and Injuries/psychologyABSTRACT
In 1972 the Brecksville Unit of the Cleveland Veterans Administration Medical Center began the first inpatient treatment program for pathological gambling in the United States. The 30-day, highly structured gambling treatment program aims for abstinence from gambling, reduction of the urge to gamble, and restoration of a maximum level of social functioning. The authors report the results of a preliminary outcome study of 60 former patients who completed a survey form rating various aspects of their lives one year postdischarge. Fifty-five percent of the respondents reported complete abstinence from gambling since discharge. Chi-square analyses demonstrated significant relationships between abstinence from gambling and improved interpersonal relationships, better financial status, decreased depression, and participation in professional aftercare and Gamblers Anonymous. The authors believe that their initial results support the contention that pathological gambling is a treatable disorder.
Subject(s)
Gambling , Hospital Units , Mental Health Services , Risk-Taking , Adult , Depression/psychology , Follow-Up Studies , Gambling/psychology , Hospital Bed Capacity, 500 and over , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Ohio , Psychotherapy, Group/methods , Social Adjustment , Therapeutic CommunityABSTRACT
Clinical impressions and psychological testing suggest that pathological gamblers demonstrate a high incidence of affective disorders. To assess the frequency of such disorders, the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia was administered to 50 patients admitted successively to the gambling treatment program of a VA hospital. Seventy-six percent of the subjects were diagnosed as having major depressive disorder and 38% as having hypomanic disorder according to the Research Diagnostic Criteria. The patients with major depressive disorder and one patient with schizoaffective disorder, depressed type, were significantly more likely to miss work often due to gambling. A large number of patients displayed suicidal tendencies.
Subject(s)
Bipolar Disorder/diagnosis , Depressive Disorder/diagnosis , Gambling/psychology , Absenteeism , Adult , Bipolar Disorder/psychology , Bipolar Disorder/therapy , Depressive Disorder/psychology , Depressive Disorder/therapy , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Psychiatric Status Rating Scales , Psychotic Disorders/diagnosis , Psychotic Disorders/psychology , Psychotic Disorders/therapy , Risk-Taking , Suicide/psychologyABSTRACT
Increasing public exposure to gambling as a recreational option is leading to increased pathological gambling . The prevalence and correlates of substance abuse in a population of severe pathological gamblers is investigated. The results indicate a high rate of alcohol abuse and drug abuse in this population and in their biological families. The implications of these findings for clinicians working with pathological gamblers and substance abusers are discussed.