The Brief Addiction Science Information Source (BASIS)

The WAGER, Vol 2(8) - The Use of Electric Shock in Aversion Therapy for Problem Gambling

Current trends and past experience influence the choice of treatment modality. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, aversion therapy was a popular treatment for pathological gamblers. The goal of aversion therapy was to suppress the targeted behavior (pathological gambling) by administering unpleasant sensations while the patient reenacted or reexperienced the problematic gambling behavior. For pathological gambling treatment, the unpleasant sensations were most often electrical shocks administered by either the therapist or the patients themselves. Some clinicians considered aversion therapy to be “remarkably effective,”* particularly if booster treatments were given to patients as a relapse prevention strategy. An advantage of... Read more →

The WAGER, Vol 2(7) - Characteristics of WAGER Subscribers

Between December 22, 1996 and February 13, 1997, we surveyed all 1996 WAGER subscribers (n=438). The response rate for this survey was 51.1%; therefore, the data is informative but not fully representative. The survey included questions about subscriber’s satisfaction with The WAGER content and presentation, access to computers and on-line technology, and demographic information. The results demonstrate that WAGER subscribers represent a broad range of work fields and primary activities. The highest percentage of respondents reported that their primary activities were in the fields of substance abuse, education, research, and clinical work. Over half the respondents (57.5%) reported holding a... Read more →

The WAGER, Vol 2(6) - Lottery Advertising: More Than Meets the Eye

During the past year, several states (30% of the states for which data was available) have decreased their budget for advertising and promoting lottery games*. Advertising implies media advertising (e.g., television or radio), while promotion includes point-of-sale, public relations, and other non-media promotion strategies. Most notably, Massachusetts cut the lottery advertising budget in half. Despite this significant decrease, however, Massachusetts increased lottery sales by 8.4%, from $2.79 billion in 1995 to $3.03 billion in 1996. The chart below* depicts, for the states with available data, lottery advertising and promotion expenditures as a percentage of lottery sales. This data is from... Read more →

The WAGER, Vol.2(5) - Gambling as a Family Activity

The nature of an individual’s initial exposure to gambling may influence his or her long-term attitudes towards gambling. Little empirical research has been done in this area. Recently, a few studies have explored one aspect of gambling initiation, the people who participate in gambling with youth or who encourage youth to gamble. The annual Survey of Quincy Youth* surveyed 3067 sixth through twelfth graders about their participation in gambling as well as use of alcohol and other drugs. A quarter (25%) of this sample had played the lottery in the past 30 days. Of these 767 students, those in lower... Read more →