title: Predictors of outcomes of psychological treatments for disordered gambling: A systematic review.
abstract: This systematic review aimed to synthesise the evidence relating to pre-treatment predictors of gambling outcomes following psychological treatment for disordered gambling across multiple time-points (i.e., post-treatment, short-term, medium-term, and long-term). A systematic search from 1990 to 2016 identified 50 articles, from which 11 socio-demographic, 16 gambling-related, 21 psychological/psychosocial, 12 treatment, and no therapist-related variables, were identified. Male gender and low depression levels were the most consistent predictors of successful treatment outcomes across multiple time-points. Likely predictors of successful treatment outcomes also included older age, lower gambling symptom severity, lower levels of gambling behaviours and alcohol use, and higher treatment session attendance. Significant associations, at a minimum of one time-point, were identified between successful treatment outcomes and being employed, ethnicity, no gambling debt, personality traits and being in the action stage of change. Mixed results were identified for treatment goal, while education, income, preferred gambling activity, problem gambling duration, anxiety, any psychiatric comorbidity, psychological distress, substance use, prior gambling treatment and medication use were not significantly associated with treatment outcomes at any time-point. Further research involving consistent treatment outcome frameworks, examination of treatment and therapist predictor variables, and evaluation of predictors across long-term follow-ups is warranted to advance this developing field of research.
authors.affiliation: School of Primary Health Care, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, Building 1, 270 Ferntree Gully road, Notting Hill, Victoria 3165, Australia; School of Psychology, Faculty of Health, Deakin University, Geelong, Locked Bag 20000, Geelong, 3220, Australia. Electronic address: stephanie.merkouris@monash.edu.
authors.forename: S S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Merkouris
authors.affiliation: School of Primary Health Care, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, Building 1, 270 Ferntree Gully road, Notting Hill, Victoria 3165, Australia; International Institute for Primary Health Care Research, Shenzhen City, Guangdong Province, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Thomas
authors.affiliation: School of Primary Health Care, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, Building 1, 270 Ferntree Gully road, Notting Hill, Victoria 3165, Australia; RDNS Institute, RDNS, 31 Alma road, St Kilda, Victoria 3182, Australia; International Institute for Primary Health Care Research, Shenzhen City, Guangdong Province, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: C J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Browning
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, Faculty of Health, Deakin University, Geelong, Locked Bag 20000, Geelong, 3220, Australia; Melbourne Graduate School of Education, University of Melbourne, Australia; Centre for Gambling Research, School of Sociology, Australian National University, ACT, Australia.
authors.forename: N A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Dowling
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D005715:Gambling / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D011613:Psychotherapy / Q000379:methods*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012737:Sex Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: Gambling; Predictor; Systematic review; Treatment outcome