Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Gambling Disorder pp 15–27Cite as

Gambling Disorder as a Clinical Phenomenon

  • Chapter
  • First Online:

Abstract

The exact origins of gambling have faded into obscurity but its presence dates back to antiquity. Archaeological findings offer evidence of games of chance played circa 4000 years BC, with many forms laying the foundation for subsequent gambling where items of values were exchanged on the outcome of chance events. Societal acceptance of gambling has fluctuated from extremes of widespread indulgence to attempted suppression, the latter in response to the social and economic impacts of excessive gambling. In the early 1900s, psychological theories were applied in an attempt to explain excessive gambling and operationally define the condition as a clinical disorder. The inclusion of ‘pathological gambling’ within ICD-9 in 1975 and DSM-III in 1980 consolidated the clinical status of the disorder, but debate on symptomatology and its classification as an impulse control or addictive behaviour remains. Although traditionally the focus has been directed predominately towards establishing diagnostic criteria and developing instruments to measure prevalence rates, contemporary efforts are turning their attention to assessing gambling-related harms across the full spectrum of gambling behaviours. This is reflected in the growing use of the term ‘problem gambling’ to refer to gambling behaviour that is resulting in harm and is consistent with a wider public health harm minimization approach that complements the clinical management of gambling disorders.

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

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   109.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD   139.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Scarne J. Scarne’s new complete guide to gambling. London: Constable; 1961.

    Google Scholar 

  2. Schwartz D. Roll the bones: the history of gambling. New York: Gotham Books; 2006.

    Google Scholar 

  3. Steinmetz A. The gaming table: its votaries and victims in all times and countries, especially in England and France. Publication No. 96, Patterson Smith Reprint Series in Criminology Law Enforcement and Social Problems, vols I and II. NJ: Patterson Smith; 1969 (orig. 1870).

    Google Scholar 

  4. Wu A, Lau JT. Gambling in China: socio-historical evolution and current challenges. Addiction. 2015;110:210–6.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Blakey R. The development of the law of gambling 1776–1976. Washington: National Institute of Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice; 1977.

    Google Scholar 

  6. France CJ. The gambling impulse. Am J Psychol. 1902;13:364–76.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Peterson VP. Obstacles to enforcement of gambling laws. Ann Am Acad Pol Soc Sci. 1950;269:9–21.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Orford J. Excessive appetites: a psychological view of addictions. New York: Wiley & Sons; 1985.

    Google Scholar 

  9. Squires P. Fydor Dostoevsky: a psychopathographical sketch. Psychoanal Rev. 1937;24:365–88.

    Google Scholar 

  10. Pushkin AS. Russian short stories (trans. R.S. Townsend). London: Everyman’s Library; 1982. p. 1–37.

    Google Scholar 

  11. Dostoevsky F. The gambler. (trans J. Coulson). Middlesex: Penguin Books; 1978. p. 17–162.

    Google Scholar 

  12. Thackeray WM. A gambler’s death. 1840. https://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/t/thackeray/william_makepeace/paris/contents.html. Retrieved 9 Jan 2016.

  13. Saki. The stake. Champaign, IL: Project Gutenberg; 1995.

    Google Scholar 

  14. von Hattinger H. Analerotik, Angstlust und Eigensinn. Int Z Psychoanal. 1914;2:244–58.

    Google Scholar 

  15. Bergler E. The psychology of gambling. London: International Universities Press; 1957.

    Google Scholar 

  16. Harris H. Gambling and addiction in an adolescent male. Psychoanal Q. 1964;34:513–25.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Herman RD. Gamblers and gambling. New York: Harper Row; 1976.

    Google Scholar 

  18. Skinner BF. Science and human behaviour. New York: Free Press; 1953.

    Google Scholar 

  19. Pavlov IP. Lectures on conditioned reflexes (translated by W.H. Gantt). London: Allen and Unwin; 1928.

    Google Scholar 

  20. Anderson G, Brown RIF. Real and laboratory gambling: sensation-seeking and arousal. Br J Psychol. 1984;75:401–10.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Zuckerman M. Sensation seeking: beyond the optimum level of arousal. NJ: Hillsdale; 1979.

    Google Scholar 

  22. Jacobs DF. A general theory of addictions: a new theoretical model. J Gambl Behav. 1986;2:15–31.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Solomon RL, Corbit JD. An opponent-process theory of motivation: I. Temporal dynamics of affect. Psychol Rev. 1974;81:119–45.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Blaszczynski A, McConaghy. Anxiety and/or depression in the pathogenesis of addictive gambling. Int J Addict. 1989;24:337–50.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Ladouceur R, Walker M. A cognitive perspective on gambling. In: Salkovskis PM, editor. Trends in cognitive-behavioural therapies. New York: John Wiley & Sons; 1996. p. 89–120.

    Google Scholar 

  26. Toneatto T, Blitz-Miller T, Calderwood K, Dragonetti R, Tsanos A. Cognitive distortions in heavy gambling. J Gambl Stud. 1997;13:253–66.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Walker MB. The psychology of gambling. Sydney: Pergamon Press; 1992.

    Google Scholar 

  28. Lesieur HR. The chase: career of the compulsive gambler. MA: Schenkman; 1984.

    Google Scholar 

  29. American Psychiatric Association. DSM-IV: diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. fourth ed. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association; 1994.

    Google Scholar 

  30. Reilly C, Smith N. The evolving definition of pathological gambling in the DSM-5. National Center for Responsible Gaming. 2013. p. 1–6.

    Google Scholar 

  31. World Health Organisation. ICD-9: international classification of diseases: revisions 9. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organisation; 1975.

    Google Scholar 

  32. American Psychiatric Association. DSM-III: diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. third ed. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association; 1980.

    Google Scholar 

  33. Petry N. Pathological gambling: etiology, comorbidity, and treatment. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Publishing; 2005.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  34. American Psychiatric Association. DSM-5: diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. fifth ed. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association; 2013.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  35. Petry NM. Pathological gambling and the DSM-V. Int Gambl Stud. 2010;10:113–5.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  36. American Psychiatric Association. DSM-IV-TR: diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (text revision). fourth ed. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association; 2000.

    Google Scholar 

  37. Petry NM, Blanco C, Auriacombe M, Borges G, Bucholz K, Crowley TJ, Grant BF, Hasin DS, O’Brien C. An overview of and rationale for changes proposed for pathological gambling in DSM-5. J Gambl Stud. 2014;30:493–502.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  38. Mitzner GB, Whelan JP, Meyers AW. Comments from the trenches: proposed changes to the DSM-V classification of pathological gambling. J Gambl Stud. 2011;27:517–21.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  39. Petry NM, Blanco C, Stinchfield R, Volberg R. An empirical evaluation of proposed changes for gambling diagnosis in the DSM-5. Addiction. 2013;108:575–81.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  40. Potenza MN, Steinberg MA, McLaughlin SD, Rounsaville BJ, O'Malley SS. Illegal behaviors in problem gambling: analysis of data from a gambling helpline. J Am Acad Psychiatry Law Online. 2000;28:389–403.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  41. Grant JE, Potenza MN. Commentary: Illegal behavior and pathological gambling. J Am Acad Psychiatry Law Online. 2007;35:302–5.

    Google Scholar 

  42. Denis C, Fatséas M, Auriacombe M. Analyses related to the development of DSM-5 criteria for substance use related disorders: 3. An assessment of pathological gambling criteria. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2012;122:22–7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  43. Temcheff CE, Derevensky JL, Paskus TS. Pathological and disordered gambling: a comparison of DSM-IV and DSM-V criteria. Int Gambl Stud. 2011;11:213–20.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  44. Hodgins DC. Using the NORC DSM Screen for Gambling Problems as an outcome measure for pathological gambling: psychometric evaluation. Addict Behav. 2004;29:1685–90.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  45. Shaffer HJ, Hall MN. Estimating the prevalence of adolescent gambling disorders: a quantitative synthesis and guide toward standard gambling nomenclature. J Gambl Stud. 1996;12:193–214.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  46. Abbott M, Volberg R, Bellringer M, Reith G. A review of research on aspects of problem gambling. London: Responsibility in Gambling Trust; 2004.

    Google Scholar 

  47. Toce-Gerstein M, Gerstein DR, Volberg RA. A hierarchy of gambling disorders in the community. Addiction. 2003;98:1661–72.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  48. Bischof A, Meyer C, Bischof G, Kastirke N, John U, Rumpf HJ. Comorbid axis I-disorders among subjects with pathological, problem, or at-risk gambling recruited from the general population in Germany: results of the PAGE study. Psychiatry Res. 2013;210:1065–70.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  49. Blanco C, Hasin DS, Petry N, Stinson FS, Grant BF. Sex differences in subclinical and DSM-IV pathological gambling: results from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions. Psychol Med. 2006;36:943–53.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  50. Feigelman W, Gorman BS, Lesieur H. Examining the relationship between at-risk gambling and suicidality in a national representative sample of young adults. Suicide Life Threat Behav. 2006;36:396–408.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  51. Potenza MN, Wareham JD, Steinberg MA, Rugle L, Cavallo DA, Krishnan-Sarin S, Desai RA. Correlates of at-risk/problem Internet gambling in adolescents. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2011;50:150–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  52. LaPlante DA, Nelson SE, LaBrie RA, Shaffer HJ. Stability and progression of disordered gambling: lessons from longitudinal studies. Can J Psychiatry. 2008;53:52–60.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  53. Ferris J, Wynne H, Single E. Measuring problem gambling in Canada. Draft final report for the Inter-Provincial Task Force on Problem Gambling. Canada: Canadian Centre for Substance Abuse; 1998.

    Google Scholar 

  54. Blaszczynski A, Nower L. A pathways model of problem and pathological gambling. Addiction. 2002;97:487–99.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  55. Walker M. On defining pathological gambling. National Association of Gambling Studies Newsletter. 1998;10:5–6.

    Google Scholar 

  56. Blaszczynski AP, Steel ZP, McConaghy N. Impulsivity and pathological gambling. Addiction. 1997;92:75–87.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  57. Langham E, Thorne H, Browne M, Donaldson P, Rose J, Rockloff M. Understanding gambling related harm: a proposed definition, conceptual framework, and taxonomy of harms. BMC Public Health. 2016;16:1.

    Google Scholar 

  58. Grant JE, Schreiber L, Odlaug BL, Kim SW. Pathological gambling and bankruptcy. Compr Psychiatry. 2010;51:115–20.

    Google Scholar 

  59. Evans L, Delfabbro PH. Motivators for change and barriers to help-seeking in Australian problem gamblers. J Gambl Stud. 2005;21:133–55.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  60. Blaszczynski A, Farrell E. A case series of 44 completed gambling-related suicides. J Gambl Stud. 1998;14:93–109.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  61. Abbott DA, Cramer SL, Sherrets SD. Pathological gambling and the family: practice implications. Fam Soc. 1995;76:213.

    Google Scholar 

  62. Wenzel HG, Øren A, Bakken IJ. Gambling problems in the family—a stratified probability sample study of prevalence and reported consequences. BMC Public Health. 2008;8:412.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  63. Muelleman RL, DenOtter T, Wadman MC, Tran TP, Anderson J. Problem gambling in the partner of the emergency department patient as a risk factor for intimate partner violence. J Emerg Med. 2002;23:307–12.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  64. Afifi TO, Brownridge DA, MacMillan H, Sareen J. The relationship of gambling to intimate partner violence and child maltreatment in a nationally representative sample. J Psychiatr Res. 2010;44:331–7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  65. Lorenz VC, Yaffee RA. Pathological gamblers and their spouses: problems in interaction. J Gambl Behav. 1989;5:113–26.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  66. McComb JL, Lee BK, Sprenkle DH. Conceptualizing and treating problem gambling as a family issue. J Marital Fam Ther. 2009;35:415–31.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  67. Clarke D. Impulsivity as a mediator in the relationship between depression and problem gambling. Personal Individ Differ. 2006;40:5–15.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  68. Kim SW, Grant JE, Eckert ED, Faris PL, Hartman BK. Pathological gambling and mood disorders: clinical associations and treatment implications. J Affect Disord. 2006;92:109–16.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  69. Hing N, Holdsworth L, Tiyce M, Breen H. Stigma and problem gambling: current knowledge and future research directions. Int Gambl Stud. 2014;14:64–81.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  70. Burge AN, Pietrzak RH, Molina CA, Petry NM. Age of gambling initiation and severity of gambling and health problems among older adult problem gamblers. Psychiatr Serv. 2004;55:1437–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  71. Desai RA, Desai MM, Potenza MN. Gambling, health and age: data from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions. Psychol Addict Behav. 2007;21:431.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  72. Erickson L, Molina CA, Ladd GT, Pietrzak RH, Petry NM. Problem and pathological gambling are associated with poorer mental and physical health in older adults. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2005;20:754–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  73. Morasco BJ, Pietrzak RH, Blanco C, Grant BF, Hasin D, Petry NM. Health problems and medical utilization associated with gambling disorders: results from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions. Psychosom Med. 2006;68:976–84.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  74. Trevorrow K, Moore S. The association between loneliness, social isolation and women’s electronic gaming machine gambling. J Gambl Stud. 1998;14:263–84.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  75. Raylu N, Oei TP. Role of culture in gambling and problem gambling. Clin Psychol Rev. 2004;23:1087–114.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  76. Winters KC, Bengston P, Door D, Stinchfield R. Prevalence and risk factors of problem gambling among college students. Psychol Addict Behav. 1998;12:127.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  77. Collins D, Lapsley H. The social costs and benefits of gambling: an introduction to the economic issues. J Gambl Stud. 2003;19:123–48.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  78. Garman ET, Leech IE, Grable JE. The negative impact of employee poor personal financial behaviors on employers. J Financ Couns Plan. 1996;7:157.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Brain Mind Centre, School of Psychology, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    Christopher J. Hunt & Alexander Blaszczynski

Authors
  1. Christopher J. Hunt
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Alexander Blaszczynski
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Alexander Blaszczynski .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité – University Medicine Berlin, Berlin, Germany

    Andreas Heinz

  2. Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité – University Medicine Berlin, Berlin, Germany

    Nina Romanczuk-Seiferth

  3. Department of Psychiatry, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA

    Marc N. Potenza

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Hunt, C.J., Blaszczynski, A. (2019). Gambling Disorder as a Clinical Phenomenon. In: Heinz, A., Romanczuk-Seiferth, N., Potenza, M. (eds) Gambling Disorder. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-03060-5_2

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-03060-5_2

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-03058-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-03060-5

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation