Control versus abstinence in the treatment of pathological gambling: a two to nine year follow-up.
A structured gambling interview schedule, the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, Spielberger's State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Zuckerman's Sensation Seeking Scale and Beck Depression Inventory were administered to 63 out of 120 pathological gamblers who had 5 years previously completed a behavioural treatment for uncontrollable gambling behaviour. Results indicated that both abstinence and controlled gambling outcomes were associated with continued improvement in self-report and psychological indices of social functioning and psychopathology. Response to treatment was associated with a reduction in arousal levels, anxiety and depression. Uncontrolled gamblers failed to show post-treatment changes on parameters of improvement. It was concluded that abstinence is not the only possible therapeutic outcome in behavioural treatment and further, that controlled gambling is not a temporary response which is followed by a return to continued uncontrollable gambling.
Blaszczynski
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A
Department of Clinical Psychology, Westmead Hospital, N.S.W., Australia.
McConaghy
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N
Frankova
A
A
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005715:Gambling / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010555:Personality Inventory