The Brief Addiction Science Information Source (BASIS)

The WAGER, Vol 2(21) - Antisocial Behavior & Gambling Among Adolescents

Substance abuse and other psychiatric disorders (e.g., depression) have been confirmed to exist among pathological gamblers to a higher degree than in the general population. Some clinicians and researchers have speculated that pathological gambling is part of a “multiple-risk” profile that includes other deviant behaviors. The Minnesota Department of Education’s Minnesota Student Survey data1 offers some evidence that pathological gambling is associated with antisocial behavior among male students. Stinchfield & colleagues examined patterns among 122,700 public school students (6th, 9th, 12th grades) in 1992 and 75,900 public school students (9th and 12th grade) in 19951. Antisocial behavior was identified by... Read more →

The WAGER, Vol 2(20) - Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Adolescent Problem Gamblers

Adolescence is often a difficult time for youth who are taking risks, exploring their identity, and separating from parents in their journey towards autonomy. Gambling and substance use can appear attractive to adolescents who may be searching for a way to avoid pain and increase pleasure*. While many adolescents can manage their lives and never experience adverse consequences from gambling or using psychoactive substances, others become addicted and experience a range of problems. A percentage of these adolescents end up in treatment, where they can learn how to recover from addiction. Pursley proposes a cognitive behavioral treatment approach for adolescents... Read more →

The WAGER, Vol 2(19) - Spontaneous Remission From Problem Gambling Among Prison Inmates

Criminal justice populations have higher rates of problem gambling than the general population. Walters* recently interviewed 363 male inmates in a medium security federal prison. This study found that 5.2% of federal inmates were pathological gamblers, while 7.4% were problem gamblers. Subjects who scored greater than 0 on the SOGS were asked if their gambling-related problems had stopped, and if so, how. Respondents chose from the following options: treatment-mediated, self-mediated before coming to prison (either 1 or more years before prison or less than 1 year before prison), incarceration-mediated, and unremitted. While 5.4% of the inmates had sought help for... Read more →

The WAGER, Vol 2(18) - Dopamine Function in Pathological Gamblers

Research into the neurobiology of pathological gambling is of great importance. Knowledge of the chemical processes occurring in the brain promises an improved understanding of pathological gambling and addictive behavior in general. Recently, Swedish researchers examined the possibility that monoaminergic neurotransmission (dopamine) is altered in pathological gambling1. Ten pathological gamblers (meeting DSM-III-R criteria) were compared with 7 controls on measures of monoamine and metabolite concentrations. Cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) was withdrawn by means of a lumbar puncture. CSF was used because chemicals which can’t cross into the bloodstream can diffuse into CSF, where they can be detected. Levels of dopamine... Read more →