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Gambling-Related Cognitive Distortions in Residential Treatment for Gambling Disorder

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Abstract

Gambling-related cognitive distortions are associated with gambling disorder severity, but few studies have provided an in-depth examination of the interrelationship between cognitive distortions, gambling severity, psychiatric comorbidity and treatment outcomes. The present study sought to identify factors associated with elevated cognitive distortions among problem gamblers entering residential treatment, examine changes in cognitive distortions through treatment, and explore the association between cognitive distortions and treatment outcomes. Pre- and post-treatment data were extracted from the charts of 125 individuals who participated in a 21-day residential treatment program for gambling disorder. Assessments included measures of demographics, gambling disorder severity, psychiatric symptoms and gambling-related cognitive distortions. Several significant associations were found between baseline cognitive distortions and psychiatric symptoms. Cognitive distortions decreased significantly from pre- to post-treatment. Pre- to post-treatment changes on several cognitive distortion scales were positively associated with greater baseline psychiatric symptomology. Treatment drop-out was associated with higher scores on measures reflecting greater impulsivity/addiction and greater perceived predictive control. Gambling-related cognitive distortions represent an important mechanism of gambling disorder and its treatment and provide a target for the development and refinement of treatment for gambling disorder.

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Acknowledgements

This project received funding from the Ontario Problem Gambling Research Centre/Gambling Research Exchange Ontario. We also acknowledge support from Joe Young Sr.-Helene Lycaki Funds from the State of Michigan, and the Detroit Wayne Mental Health Authority. We thank the support, administrative and clinical staff of the Centre for Problem Gambling and Digital Dependency at Hotel Dieu Grace Healthcare in Windsor, Ontario for their support on various aspects of this project.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, Wayne State University, 3901 Chrysler Service Drive, Suite 2A, Detroit, MI, 48201, USA

    David M. Ledgerwood & Dragana Ostojic-Aitkens

  2. Department of Psychology, University of Windsor, Windsor, ON, Canada

    David M. Ledgerwood, Fiona Dyshniku, Jeffrey E. McCarthy & Dragana Ostojic-Aitkens

  3. Centre for Problem Gambling and Digital Dependency, Hotel Dieu Grace Healthcare, Windsor, ON, Canada

    Jennifer Forfitt & Shawn C. Rumble

Authors
  1. David M. Ledgerwood
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  2. Fiona Dyshniku
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  3. Jeffrey E. McCarthy
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  4. Dragana Ostojic-Aitkens
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  5. Jennifer Forfitt
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  6. Shawn C. Rumble
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Correspondence to David M. Ledgerwood.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Research Involving Human Participants

Ethical approval was provided by the University of Windsor Research Ethics Board. All procedures performed were in accordance with the 1964 Helsinki declaration.

Informed Consent

Data used for the present study were anonymized data extracted from clinical charts. Because no identifying data were recorded, and because the data were already collected as part of routine clinical care, we received permission from the Research Ethics Board to use the data without a priori consent from patients.

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Ledgerwood, D.M., Dyshniku, F., McCarthy, J.E. et al. Gambling-Related Cognitive Distortions in Residential Treatment for Gambling Disorder. J Gambl Stud 36, 669–683 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-019-09895-4

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