Skip to main content
Log in

Community Treatment for Problem Gambling: Sex Differences in Outcome and Process

  • ORIGINAL PAPER
  • Published:
Community Mental Health Journal Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This study compared sex differences in related treatment outcomes and processes in a community sample of outpatient problem gambling treatment-seekers. Participants attended approximately seven sessions of cognitive-behavioral treatment. Women were more likely to have a history of psychiatric comorbidity, prefer non-strategic/non-skill forms of gambling, and have a more rapid progression towards a gambling problem than did men. At the 6-month post-treatment follow-up, men were found to have improved to a significantly greater degree on measures of gambling severity and rates of abstinence in comparison to women. Moreover, men rated treatment components to be more helpful, whereas women found specific gambling-related treatment interventions (e.g., identification of high-risk situations, gambling beliefs and attitudes) to be less helpful. Implications for identifying treatment needs of women seeking problem gambling treatment are discussed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Committee on nomenclature and statistics. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blanco, C., Hasin, D. S., Petry, N., Stinson, F. S., & Grant, B. F. (2006). Sex differences in subclinical and DSM-IV pathological gambling: Results from the national epidemiological survey on alcohol and related conditions. Psychological Medicine, 36, 943–953.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Blanco, C., Petkova, E., Ibanez, A., & Saiz-Ruiz, J. (2002). A pilot placebo-controlled study of fluvoxamine for pathological gambling. Annals of Clinical Psychiatry, 14, 9–15.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Crisp, B. R., Thomas, S. A., Jackson, A. C., Smith, S., Borrell, J., Ho, W.-Y., et al. (2004). Not the same: A comparison of female and male clients seeking treatment from problem gambling counseling services. Journal of Gambling Studies, 20, 283–299.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Crisp, B. R., Thomas, S. A., Jackson, A. C., Thomason, N., Smith, S., Borrell, J., et al. (2000). Sex differences in the treatment needs and outcomes of problem gamblers. Research on Social Work Practice, 10, 229–242.

    Google Scholar 

  • Daughters, S. B., Lejuez, C. W., Lesieur, H., Strong, D. R., & Zvolensky, M. (2003). Towards a better understanding of gambling treatment failure: Implications of translational research. Clinical Psychology Review, 23, 573–586.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Deegear, J., & Lawson, D. M. (2003). The utility of empirically supported treatments. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 34, 271–277.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Derogatis, L. R. (2000). Brief symptom inventory-18 (BSI-18): Administration, scoring, and procedures manual. Minneapolis, MN: National Computer Systems.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dowling, N., Smith, D., & Thomas, T. (2006). Treatment of female pathological gambling: The efficacy of a cognitive-behavioral approach. Journal of Gambling Studies, 22, 355–372.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ferris, J., & Wynne, H. (2001). The Canadian problem gambling index: User’s manual. Toronto, ON: Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frank, J. D., & Frank, J. B. (1991). Persuasion and healing: A comparative study of psychotherapy (3rd ed.). Baltimore, MS: Johns Hopkins University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Getty, H. A., Watson, J., & Frisch, G. R. (2000). A comparison of depression and styles of coping in male and female GA members and controls. Journal of Gambling Studies, 16, 377–391.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Grant, J. E., & Kim, S. W. (2002). Gender differences in pathological gamblers seeking medication treatment. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 43, 56–62.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hodgins, D. C., Currie, S. R., & el-Guebaly, N. (2001). Motivational enhancement and self-help treatments for problem gambling. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 69, 50–57.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hodgins, D. C., & Holub, A. (2007). Treatment of problem gambling. In G. Smith, D. Hodgins, & R. Williams (Eds.), Research and measurement issues in gambling studies (pp. 372–399). Boston: Elsevier.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hodgins, D. C., Peden, N., & Cassidy, E. (2005). The association between comorbidity and outcome in pathological gambling: A prospective follow-up of recent quitters. Journal of Gambling Studies, 21, 255–271.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hraba, J., & Lee, G. (1996). Gender, gambling and problem gambling. Journal of Gambling Studies, 21, 83–101.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ibanez, A., Blanco, C., Moreryra, P., & Saiz-Ruiz, J. (2003). Gender differences in pathological gambling. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 64, 295–301.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kim, S. W., & Grant, J. E. (2001). An open naltrexone treatment study in pathological gambling disorder. International Clinical Psychopharmacology, 16, 285–289.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ladd, G., & Petry, N. (2003). A comparison of pathological gamblers with and without substance abuse treatment histories. Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, 11, 202–209.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lesieur, H. R., & Blume, S. B. (1991). When lady luck loses: The female pathological gambler. In N. van den Bergh (Ed.), Feminist perspectives on addictions (pp. 181–197). New York: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mark, M. E., & Lesieur, H. R. (1992). A feminist critique of problem gambling research. British Journal of Addiction, 87, 33–50.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • National Centre for Education and Training on Addiction. (2000). Current ‘best practice’ interventions for gambling problems: A theoretical and empirical review. Melbourne, VIC: Victorian Government Department of Human Service.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pallanti, S., Rossi, N. B., Sood, E., & Hollander, E. (2002). Nefazodone treatment of pathological gambling: A prospective open-label controlled trial. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 63, 559–564.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Petry, N. M. (2005). Pathological gambling. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Potenza, M. N., Steinberg, M. A., McLaughlin, S. D., Wu, R., Rounsaville, B. J., & O’Malley, S. S. (2001). Gender-related differences in the characteristics of problem gamblers using a gambling help line. American Journal of Psychiatry, 158, 1500–1505.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Robson, E., Edwards, J., Smith, G., & Colman, I. (2002). Gambling decisions: An early intervention program for problem gamblers. Journal of Gambling Studies, 18, 235–255.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Toneatto, T. (2005). A perspective on problem gambling treatment: Issues and challenges. Journal of Gambling Studies, 21, 75–80.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Toneatto, T. (unpublished data). The psychometric properties of the inventory of gambling situations.

  • Toneatto, T., & Ladouceur, R. (2003). The treatment of pathological gambling: A critical review of the literature. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 28, 4–292.

    Google Scholar 

  • Toneatto, T., & Millar, G. (2004). Assessing and treating problem gambling: Empirical status and promising trends. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 49, 173–181.

    Google Scholar 

  • Toneatto, T., & Nguyen, L. (2007). Individual characteristics and problem gambling behaviors. In G. Smith, D. Hodgins, & R. Williams (Eds.), Research and measurement issues in gambling studies (pp. 279–305). Boston: Elsevier.

    Google Scholar 

  • Trevorrow, K., & Moore, S. (1998). The association between loneliness, social isolation and women’s electronic gaming machine gambling. Journal of Gambling Studies, 14, 263–284.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Turner, N., & Littman-Sharpe, N. (unpublished). The inventory of gambling situations.

  • Volberg, R. A. (1994). The prevalence and demographics of pathological gamblers: Implications for public health. American Journal of Public Health, 84, 237–241.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Volberg, R. A. (2003). Has there been a “feminization” of gambling and problem gambling in the United States? Journal of Gambling Issues, 8, 1–35.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walker, M., Toneatto, T., Potenza, M. N., Petry, N., Ladouceur, R., Hodgins, D. C., et al. (2006). A framework for reporting outcomes in problem gambling treatment research: The Banff, Alberta Consensus. Addiction, 101, 504–511.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Tony Toneatto.

Additional information

The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not reflect those of the Center for Addiction and Mental Health.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Toneatto, T., Wang, J.J. Community Treatment for Problem Gambling: Sex Differences in Outcome and Process. Community Ment Health J 45, 468–475 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-009-9244-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-009-9244-1

Keywords

Navigation