title: Psychiatric co-morbidity in problem and pathological gamblers: investigating the confounding influence of alcohol use disorder.
abstract: Pathological gambling is known to be associated with a higher than average prevalence of psychological co-morbidities including a range of psychiatric conditions. A problem with much of this literature, however, is that such problems are also frequently found in populations affected by alcohol use disorder, which is common in populations of pathological gamblers. Accordingly, the principal aim of this study was to profile the comorbidities present in a sample of pathological gamblers, comparing those who did, and did not, additionally meet criteria for alcohol use disorder. A sample of 140 community-recruited regular gamblers completed a number of measures including the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview, the Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire, NORC DSM-IV Screen Self-Administered and the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test. Comparisons showed that most psychiatric conditions (and in particular personality disorders) were significantly more prevalent in those with a dual diagnosis, followed by problem gamblers and then by those with neither disorder. This suggests that high rates of psychiatric illness in pathological gambling may be strongly influenced by co-occurring alcohol problems.
authors: School of Psychology, University of Adelaide, Australia.
authors: Reza
authors: R
authors: Abdollahnejad
authors: School of Psychology, University of Adelaide, Australia. Electronic address: Paul.Delfabbro@adelaide.edu.au.
authors: Paul
authors: P
authors: Delfabbro
authors: School of Psychology, University of Adelaide, Australia.
authors: Linley
authors: L
authors: Denson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000453:epidemiology*; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015897:Comorbidity; D017831:Diagnosis, Dual (Psychiatry); D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D005715:Gambling / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019964:Mood Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D010554:Personality Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Pathological gambling; Psychiatric disorder; Substance use disorder