Abstract
To investigate the frequency of pathological gambling among alcohol and other substance abusers who sought specialized treatment. Seventy-four outpatients from three different substance abuse treatment services were interviewed. The South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS) scale was used for the diagnosis of pathological gambling. The diagnosis of alcohol and other substances abuse was established according to the DSM-IV criteria and the Short Alcohol Dependence Data (SADD) scale. The Portuguese version of the Self-Report Questionnaire (SRQ) scale was used to detect psychiatric symptoms and the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) for depressive symptoms. Average scores obtained from the application of these scales were compared using the Student t-test. All subjects met the criteria for drug abuse, 61.6% met the alcohol dependence criteria, 60.3% for cocaine/crack, and 34.2% for cannabis. According to the SOGS scale, the majority of drug addicts (70.3%) were classified as social gamblers, 10.8% as problem gamblers and 18.9% as pathological gamblers. Psychiatric and depression symptoms were found in the sample. Pathological gambling patients showed more depression symptoms than non-pathological gambling patients. A high frequency of pathological gambling was found among the drug addicts interviewed. It is emphasized the importance of investigating pathological gambling among patients under treatment of drug abuse and to include strategies for the treatment of this disorder.
Highlights
Pathological gambling can be defined as the recurring behavior of gambling on games of chance despite the negative consequences resulting from this activity
The sample consisted of 74 drug addicts that sought treatment in two public care services run by a public university: Program for Counseling and Treatment of Addiction (PROAD) and Alcohol and Drug Research Unit (UNIAD); as well as in a group of Narcotics Anonymous (NA)
The SOGS11 was used in a version translated and adapted to Portuguese, to which were added questions concerning socio-demographic data, length of time with gambling problems, substance abused which led to the need for treatment, start age and length of time of problems related to substance use
Summary
Pathological gambling can be defined as the recurring behavior of gambling on games of chance despite the negative consequences resulting from this activity. The individual loses control over the game, becoming incapable of controlling the time and money spent, even when losing. The American Psychiatry Association (APA) recognized pathological gambling as an impulse control disorder in 1980 in the DSM-III - Manual for the Statistical Diagnosis of Mental Disorders. Since this disorder has gained in importance as its prevalence has grown in many countries,[15] mainly as a consequence of the growing availability of games of chance. Besides the traditional horse race and card game betting schemes, new games have been introduced in the market such as bingo halls and electronic games.
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