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Primed for Change: Facilitating Factors in Problem Gambling Treatment

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Abstract

To successfully facilitate the treatment of problem gambling, change processes should be examined in order to identify those variables that differentiate good versus poor treatment outcomes. The current study explored the change facilitating effects of certain characteristics or conditions of an individual being treated: emotional support, instrumental support, emotional awareness, GA involvement, and depressed affect. These conditions were hypothesized to be predictive of a change-oriented mindset (i.e., “resources for change”) measured by abstinence self-efficacy, motivation for change, and readiness for change. Participants were 60 outpatients (54.2% male; M age = 46.7 years) with problem gambling recruited from several treatment centres throughout Ontario, Canada. Results indicated that: (1) depressed affect and emotional support seem to influence self-efficacy for abstinence, (2) emotional support alone appears to influence motivation for change, and (3) GA involvement, depressed affect, and emotional awareness, together, seem to influence readiness for change. These findings have implications for promoting change oriented dispositions in problem gambling individuals.

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Acknowledgment

The authors would like to acknowledge the support of the Ontario Problem Gambling Research Centre and the support of the Problem Gambling Research Group at the University of Windsor.

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  1. University of Windsor, 401 Sunset Avenue, Windsor, ON, Canada, N9B 3P4

    Kevin Gomes & Antonio Pascual-Leone

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  1. Kevin Gomes
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Correspondence to Kevin Gomes.

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Gomes, K., Pascual-Leone, A. Primed for Change: Facilitating Factors in Problem Gambling Treatment. J Gambl Stud 25, 1–17 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-008-9111-y

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