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Psychological Distress as an Indicator of Co-Occurring Psychopathology among Treatment-Seeking Disordered Gamblers

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Abstract

Disordered gamblers frequently present with concurrent anxiety, depressive, personality, and substance use disorders, which may complicate treatment. Although there is a need for a thorough assessment, some questionnaires may prove lengthy for clients and clinicians. Thus, there is a need for brief screens for identifying co-occurring psychopathology. The present study sought to examine whether a brief, self-report measure of psychological distress could indicate the presence of co-occurring psychopathology among an outpatient sample of disordered gamblers. At intake, 69 participants completed self-report measures of distress and gambling symptomatology, a personality inventory, and a structured interview for the diagnostic criteria for disordered gambling. Gamblers with greater elevations of psychological distress evidenced greater severity of gambling pathology. Clinically significant elevations were present for symptoms of depression, deviancy, and anxiety, but not substance abuse. Greater scores of psychological distress significantly predicted elevations of depression, deviancy, and anxiety. Sensitivity and specificity were evaluated and the findings supported that an average psychological distress score of 16 corresponded with the presence of co-occurring psychopathology. Clinicians treating disordered gamblers should consider screening for co-occurring psychopathology with brief, self-report measures of psychological distress.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Memphis, 202 Psychology Building, Memphis, TN, 38152, USA

    Rory A. Pfund, James P. Whelan, Samuel C. Peter & Andrew W. Meyers

  2. Emory & Henry College, Emory, VA, USA

    Jordan E. Greenburg

  3. Arizona WinWay Center, Tempe, AZ, USA

    Katherine K. Wilson

Authors
  1. Rory A. Pfund
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  2. James P. Whelan
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  3. Jordan E. Greenburg
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  4. Samuel C. Peter
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  5. Katherine K. Wilson
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  6. Andrew W. Meyers
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rory A. Pfund.

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The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Human Participants and Informed Consent

We applied in full concordance with the university’s Institutional Review Board regarding research involving human participants and informed consent.

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Pfund, R.A., Whelan, J.P., Greenburg, J.E. et al. Psychological Distress as an Indicator of Co-Occurring Psychopathology among Treatment-Seeking Disordered Gamblers. J Gambl Stud 33, 907–918 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-016-9645-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-016-9645-3

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