Gambling disorder and obsessive–compulsive personality disorder: A frequent but understudied comorbidity [open access article]

Medeiros, G. & Grant, J. (2018). Journal of Behavioral Addictions 7(2), 366–374. doi: 10.1556/2006.7.2018.50

Epidemiological data have suggested that the prevalence of co-occurring personality disorders is particularly high in people with gambling disorder (GD). Among the personality disorders, obsessive–compulsive personality disorder (OCPD) appears to be the most common problem. The objective of this study was to investigate the clinical presentation of GD with and without co-occurring OCPD. Our research provides further
insight on GD co-occurring with OCPD, such as increasing social support and improvement of coping skills, especially to deal with financial difficulties and stress. Our findings may lead to more customized and effective therapeutic approaches to this frequent comorbidity. Access full article

Analysis of Gambling in the Media Related to Screens: Immersion as a Predictor of Excessive Use? Full-text

By Jean-Jacques Rémond, & Lucia Romo

Abstract: This study investigates the intricacies between the player interface proposed by the screens, (in particular on smartphone applications or in video games) and gambling. Recent research indicates connections between “immersion” and excessive screen practice. We want to understand the causal-effects between online gambling and the “immersion” variable and understand their relationship and its contingencies. This article empirically investigates whether and how it is possible to observe immersion with its sub-dimensions in gambling on different screens. The objective of this study was to analyze: (1) the costs and benefits associated with gambling practice on screens (2) the link between gambling practice and screen practice (video game, Internet, mobile screen); (3) to observe the propensity to immersion for individuals practicing gambling on screens; and (4) to examine the comorbidities and cognitive factors associated with the practice of gambling on screen. A total of 432 adults (212 men, 220 women), recruited from Ile-de-France (France), responded to a battery of questionnaires. Our study suggests that immersion variables make it possible to understand the cognitive participation of individuals towards screens in general, the practice of gambling on screens and the excessive practice of screens.

Jean-Jacques Rémond, & Lucia Romo. (2018). Analysis of Gambling in the Media Related to Screens: Immersion as a Predictor of Excessive Use? International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 15(1), 58. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15010058

 

Food Addiction in Gambling Disorder: Frequency and Clinical Outcomes

By Susana Jiménez-Murcia, Roser Granero, Ines Wolz, Marta Baño, Gemma Mestre-Bach, Trevor Steward, Zaida Agüera, Anke Hinney, Carlos Diéguez, Felipe F. Casanueva, Ashley N. Gearhardt, Anders Hakansson, José M. Menchón, and Fernando Fernández-Aranda.

Background: The food addiction (FA) model is receiving increasing interest from the scientific community. Available empirical evidence suggests that this condition may play an important role in the development and course of physical and mental health conditions such as obesity, eating disorders, and other addictive behaviors. However, no epidemiological data exist on the comorbidity of FA and gambling disorder (GD), or on the phenotype for the co-occurrence of GD+FA.

Objectives: To determine the frequency of the comorbid condition GD+FA, to assess whether this comorbidity features a unique clinical profile compared to GD without FA, and to generate predictive models for the presence of FA in a GD sample.

Method: Data correspond to N = 458 treatment-seeking patients who met criteria for GD in a hospital unit specialized in behavioral addictions.

Results: Point prevalence for FA diagnosis was 9.2%. A higher ratio of FA was found in women (30.5%) compared to men (6.0%). Lower FA prevalence was associated with older age. Patients with high FA scores were characterized by worse psychological state, and the risk of a FA diagnosis was increased in patients with high scores in the personality traits harm avoidance and self-transcendence, and low scores in cooperativeness (R² = 0.18).

Conclusion: The co-occurrence of FA in treatment-seeking GD patients is related to poorer emotional and psychological states. GD treatment interventions and related behavioral addictions should consider potential associations with problematic eating behavior and aim to include techniques that aid patients in better managing this behavior.

Jiménez-Murcia, S., Granero, R., Wolz, I., Baño, M., Mestre-Bach, G., Steward, T., … Fernández-Aranda, F. (2017). Food Addiction in Gambling Disorder: Frequency and Clinical Outcomes. Frontiers in Psychology, 8. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00473

Association of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder with gambling disorder

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a frequent mental disorder with childhood onset and high persistence into adulthood. There is much evidence that ADHD increases the risk for the development of other psychiatric disorders and functional problems in several domains of everyday life. In this study, the association of ADHD with gambling disorder (GD) was investigated. 163 adult subjects suffering from GD were examined for childhood and current ADHD according to DSM-5 as well as co-morbid psychiatric disorders. Moreover, characteristics of gambling behavior have been evaluated. The prevalence of lifetime ADHD was 28.8 %, with 25.2 % of the study population presenting ADHD as a full syndrome according to DSM-5. The prevalence of co-morbid substance use disorders and adjustment disorders and cluster B personality disorders was higher in GD patients with current ADHD than in the group without. Also, an increased rate of suicide attempts was detected in gamblers with ADHD. In contrast with gamblers without ADHD, those with ADHD were reported to spend more time with gambling, a sedative effect of gambling and a faster development of GD. The high prevalence of ADHD in patients with GD indicates that childhood ADHD is a risk factor for the development of GD in later life. Moreover, treatment of patients with GD and ADHD is complicated by a high rate of co-morbid disorders. Regarding therapeutic approaches, it should be considered that functional aspects of gambling differ in GD patients with and without ADHD.

Retz, W., Ringling, J., Retz-Junginger, P., Vogelgesang, M., & Rösler, M. (2016). Association of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder with gambling disorder. Journal of Neural Transmission, 1–7. http://doi.org/10.1007/s00702-016-1566-x

People with gambling disorder and risky alcohol habits benefit more from motivational interviewing than from cognitive behavioral group therapy (Open Access)

Background. Effective psychological treatment, including cognitive behavioral therapy and motivational interviewing (MI), is available for people with problematic gambling behaviors. To advance the development of treatment for gambling disorder, it is critical to further investigate how comorbidity impacts different types of treatments. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether screening for risky alcohol habits can provide guidance on whether people with gambling disorder should be recommended cognitive behavioral group therapy (CBGT) or MI.

Methods. The present study is a secondary analysis of a previous randomized controlled trial that compared the effects of CBGT, MI and a waitlist control group in the treatment of disordered gambling. Assessment and treatment was conducted at an outpatient dependency clinic in Stockholm, Sweden, where 53 trial participants with gambling disorder began treatment. A modified version of the National Opinion Research Centre DSM-IV Screen for gambling problems was used to assess gambling disorder. The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) was used to screen for risky alcohol habits.

Results. The interaction between treatment and alcohol habits was significant and suggests that patients with gambling disorder and risky alcohol habits were better helped by MI, while those without risky alcohol habits were better helped by CBGT.

Conclusions. The results support a screening procedure including the AUDIT prior to starting treatment for gambling disorder because the result of the screening can provide guidance in the choice of treatment. Patients with gambling disorder and risky alcohol habits are likely to be best helped if they are referred to MI, while those without risky alcohol habits are likely to be best helped if they are referred to CBGT.

Josephson, H., Carlbring, P., Forsberg, L., & Rosendahl, I. (2016). People with gambling disorder and risky alcohol habits benefit more from motivational interviewing than from cognitive behavioral group therapy. PeerJ, 4, e1899. http://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.1899

A qualitative analysis of the effects of a comorbid disordered gambling diagnosis with schizophrenia

Little research has examined the association between disordered gambling and psychosis. In addition, clinicians treating schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorders rarely screen for or treat comorbid gambling problems due to diagnostic overshadowing. Thus, the effects of disordered gambling on symptoms of schizophrenia and vice versa remain largely unexplored and unidentified in research and clinical practice. The goal of the present study was to explore qualitatively the reciprocal associations between schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder and disordered gambling through content and functional analyses from the perspective of the affected individual. Eight participants who met DSM-IV criteria for schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder and disordered gambling participated in a qualitative interview examining key antecedents associated with their gambling, as well as perceived functional consequences of gambling…

Source: Yakovenko, I., Clark, C. M., Hodgins, D. C., & Goghari, V. M. (n.d.). A qualitative analysis of the effects of a comorbid disordered gambling diagnosis with schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Research. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.schres.2015.12.008

Exploring the Relationship Between Stimulant Use and Gambling in College Students – Online First – Springer

Both gambling and stimulant use are common and can lead to problems on college campuses with consequences that impact the financial, emotional, academic and physical well-being of students. Yet few studies have been conducted to understand the co-occurrence of these conditions and the increased risk factors if any that may exist for gambling and related problems. The present study is among the first to document the co-occurrence of these behaviors in both a random sample of students (N = 4640), and then to explore to what extent stimulant use impacts subsequent gambling and related problems 12 months later in an at-risk sample (N = 199)…

Source: Geisner, I. M., Huh, D., Cronce, J. M., Lostutter, T. W., Kilmer, J., & Larimer, M. E. (2015). Exploring the Relationship Between Stimulant Use and Gambling in College Students. Journal of Gambling Studies, 1–16. http://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-015-9586-2

Problem-Gambling Severity and Psychiatric Disorders among American-Indian/Alaska Native Adults

Little is known about the association between problem-gambling severity and psychiatric disorders among American-Indian/Alaska-Native (AI/AN) individuals. Thus, we examined these factors among a nationally representative sample of AI/AN and other American adults in the USA.

Method

Using the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC) data, we conducted separate Wald tests and multinomial logistic regression analyses comparing AI/AN to black/African American, white/Caucasian, and all other racial/ethnic groups, respectively…

Source: Kong, G., Smith, P. H., Pilver, C., Hoff, R., & Potenza, M. N. (2015). Problem-Gambling Severity and Psychiatric Disorders among American-Indian/Alaska Native Adults. Journal of Psychiatric Research.

Gender Differences in the Temporal Sequencing of Problem Gambling with Other Disorders

Gender differences in the temporal sequencing of problem gambling and other disorders was investigated in a sample of 267 gamblers, recruited from treatment centres. There were 144 men (54 %) with a mean age of 40.58 years and 123 women with a mean age of 48.72 years. All participants completed a survey assessing age of first onset for problem gambling and age of first onset for mood and substance abuse disorders. Results revealed that women tended to experience other disorders before the first onset of problem gambling, whereas men tended to experience other disorders after the first onset of problem gambling…

Source: Haw, J., & Holdsworth, L. (2015). Gender Differences in the Temporal Sequencing of Problem Gambling with Other Disorders. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 1–13. http://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-015-9601-y

The Relationship Between Problem Gambling and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Abstract: Recent studies indicate that treatment-seeking problem gamblers display elevated rates of ADHD and that adolescents who screen positive for ADHD are more likely to engage in gambling, develop gambling problems, and experience a greater severity in gambling problems. This study aimed to (a) compare the prevalence of ADHD in treatment-seeking problem gamblers to the general population; (b) investigate the relationships between ADHD and problem gambling severity, cluster B personality disorders, motor impulsivity, alcohol use, substance use, gender, and age; and (c) investigate the degree to which these factors moderate the relationship between ADHD and problem gambling severity.

Waluk, O. R., Youssef, G. J., & Dowling, N. A. (2015). The Relationship Between Problem Gambling and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Journal of Gambling Studies, 1–14. http://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-015-9564-8
.