title: Psychological Distress as an Indicator of Co-Occurring Psychopathology among Treatment-Seeking Disordered Gamblers.
abstract: Disordered gamblers frequently present with concurrent anxiety, depressive, personality, and substance use disorders, which may complicate treatment. Although there is a need for a thorough assessment, some questionnaires may prove lengthy for clients and clinicians. Thus, there is a need for brief screens for identifying co-occurring psychopathology. The present study sought to examine whether a brief, self-report measure of psychological distress could indicate the presence of co-occurring psychopathology among an outpatient sample of disordered gamblers. At intake, 69 participants completed self-report measures of distress and gambling symptomatology, a personality inventory, and a structured interview for the diagnostic criteria for disordered gambling. Gamblers with greater elevations of psychological distress evidenced greater severity of gambling pathology. Clinically significant elevations were present for symptoms of depression, deviancy, and anxiety, but not substance abuse. Greater scores of psychological distress significantly predicted elevations of depression, deviancy, and anxiety. Sensitivity and specificity were evaluated and the findings supported that an average psychological distress score of 16 corresponded with the presence of co-occurring psychopathology. Clinicians treating disordered gamblers should consider screening for co-occurring psychopathology with brief, self-report measures of psychological distress.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Memphis, 202 Psychology Building, Memphis, TN, 38152, USA. rorypfund@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Rory A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Pfund
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Memphis, 202 Psychology Building, Memphis, TN, 38152, USA.
authors.forename: James P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Whelan
authors.affiliation: Emory & Henry College, Emory, VA, USA.
authors.forename: Jordan E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Greenburg
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Memphis, 202 Psychology Building, Memphis, TN, 38152, USA.
authors.forename: Samuel C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Peter
authors.affiliation: Arizona WinWay Center, Tempe, AZ, USA.
authors.forename: Katherine K
authors.initials: KK
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Memphis, 202 Psychology Building, Memphis, TN, 38152, USA.
authors.forename: Andrew W
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Meyers
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D005715:Gambling / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010551:Personality; D010554:Personality Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Assessment; Comorbidity; Disordered gambling; Distress; Gambling