A Preliminary Investigation Of Abstinence And Controlled Gambling As Self-Selected Goals Of Treatment For Female Pathological Gambling

A Preliminary Investigation Of Abstinence And Controlled Gambling As Self-Selected Goals Of Treatment For Female Pathological Gambling

J Gambl Stud (2009) 25:201–214 DOI 10.1007/s10899-009-9116-1
ORIGINAL PAPER
A Preliminary Investigation of Abstinence
and Controlled Gambling as Self-Selected Goals of Treatment for Female Pathological Gambling
Nicki Dowling Æ David Smith Æ Trang Thomas
Published online: 7 February 2009
Ó Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2009
Abstract The current study aimed to provide a preliminary evaluation of the differential efficacy of a cognitive-behavioural treatment program for female pathological gamblers delivered with the goals of abstinence or controlled gambling. The findings were based on the comparison of pathological gamblers selecting abstinence and pathological gamblers selecting controlled gambling on measures of gambling behaviour and psychological functioning. The findings revealed that pathological gamblers selecting controlled gam- bling displayed comparable levels of improvement to those displayed by gamblers selecting abstinence. Using a treatment completer approach, 89% of the gamblers selecting abstinence compared with 82% selecting controlled gambling no longer satisfied the diagnostic criteria for pathological gambling by the completion of the 6-month follow-up period. Although further scientific demonstration is required, the findings of this study provide preliminary support for the practice of offering controlled gambling as an alter- native goal in the treatment of pathological gambling.
Keywords Gambling   Pathological gambling   Cognitive-behavioural therapy   Treatment goal   Controlled gambling
Introduction
Pathological gambling was first officially recognised as a psychiatric disorder when it was categorised within the residual category of disorders of impulse control in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Third Edition). Pathological gambling remains classified as a disorder of impulse control in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Fourth Edition: DSM-IV-TR) where it is defined as ‘‘a...