The Brief Addiction Science Information Source (BASIS)

The WAGER, Vol. 3(47) - “A Gamester!”

Thanksgiving is one of only a few national holidays that tie Americans to their collective history. In this spirit, now is an apt time to hear the voices of those who preceded us in the field of gambling studies. In 1828, Caroline Matilda Warren published a pocket-sized volume entitled The Gamesters; or Ruins of Innocence. An Original Novel Founded in Truth. Peppering her prose with verses from Pope, Milton, and Vergil, Warren tells the tale of Leander Anderson, who squanders his family’s fortune at the gaming table before taking his own life. That The Gamesters is a didactic tract is... Read more →

The WAGER, Vol. 3(46) - GA Observed

David Turner and Danny Saunders, both of Wales, set out to investigate the activities of two local Gamblers Anonymous (GA) groups. Their methodology employed participant observation, a research paradigm rarely seen in gambling studies. Over a 12-month period (Jan. 1986 to Jan. 1987), Turner attended 32 GA meetings and made qualitative observations of their nature. When assessing the validity of his statements, it should be remembered that data acquired through participant observation is necessarily gathered through the subjective lenses of the participant observer. Turner noted the high rate of persons dropping out after attending their first meeting ,and attempted to... Read more →

The WAGER, Vol. 3(45) - Around the World, Around the Genome

“For mental disorders, genetic methods are likely to be more powerful than any other approach in uncovering the underlying basis.” So wrote Peter Propping, chair of the 6th World Congress on Psychiatric Genetics, held last month in Bonn, Germany. In addition to the plenary sessions, the Congress included poster sessions, during which some 350 studies were presented by researchers from around the globe. Below are selections: • Building on research that implicates serotonin-producing and dopamine-producing genes in the development of pathological gambling, geneticists in Spain tested the frequency of the suspect alleles among pathological gamblers and a matched control group.... Read more →

The WAGER, Vol. 3(44) - Vocabulary Matters

Configuring psychiatric schemata and vocabulary is an inherently politically charged process, and the language associated with gambling can be confusing. Conceptual difficulties and labeling problems have caused considerable difficulty for scientists, public policy makers, and patients. DSM-IV provides one response, referring specifically to “mental disorders” as the object of its classification system (1). For example, “…what are being classi­fied are disorders that people have.” Therefore, each diagnostic category including pathological gambling is, by DSM-IV definition, a mental disorder. Table 1 below illustrates some of the major diagnostic classes of mental disorders with some examples. Currently, DSM-IV classifies pathological gambling as... Read more →