The Brief Addiction Science Information Source (BASIS)

The WAGER 6(5) - DSM-IV Nosology: Should Pathological Gambling be "Elsewhere Classified"?

The past two issues of the WAGER have scrutinized DSM-IV (Vol. 6 No. 4, Vol. 6, No. 3). This week, the series continues with a brief examination of the manual’s categorization of pathological gambling. Specifically, DSM-IV classifies pathological gambling within the category of “Impulse-Control Disorders Not Elsewhere Classified” (APA, 2000). Other disorders included in this category are Intermittent Explosive Disorder, Kleptomania, Pyromania, Trichotillomania, and Impulse-Control Disorder Not Otherwise Specified. Classifying pathological gambling as an impulse-control disorder represents the first attempt to nosologically fit intemperate gambling into the psychiatric diagnostic schema. Theoretically, grouping pathological gambling with impulse disorders like kleptomania and... Read more →

The WAGER 6(4) - DSM-IV: Cautionary Ambivalence

Last week's WAGER examined some clinical ambiguities associated with the DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for pathological gambling. In addition, the WAGER suggested that a careful reading of these criteria should remind clinicians about the discretion that is available to them when they evaluate problem and pathological gamblers. While DSM-IV encourages this discretion in general, it buttresses this need, in part, with a Cautionary Statement. The American Psychiatric Association includes a Cautionary Statement in DSM-IV to protect against clinical, scientific, and legal criticisms that might arise as a result of its classification system for certain mental disorders. The classification of pathological gambling... Read more →

Op-Ed/Editorials: Antiaddiction Medicine and the Future of Addiction Treatment: A Discussion

The following editorial was written by Dr. McPeake. The pages that follow contain two responses (by Dr. Dodes and Dr. Potenza, respectively) to this editorial. The last page contains Dr. McPeake's final response. John D. McPeake, Ph.D., C.A.S President, Cypress Hill Associates, Inc. Knowledge-based fields of endeavor, like addiction treatment, proceed within a “taken-for-granted” frame of reference or paradigm which accommodates instances of new knowledge by incorporating them into the existing paradigm. Twelve-Step-oriented models of addiction treatment, for example, the dominant addiction treatment framework in the U.S., has had little difficulty incorporating cognitive behavioral, stage change analysis and motivational enhancement... Read more →

The WAGER 6(3) - DSM-IV DIAGNOSTIC CRITERIA FOR

Recently, we used the WAGER website's relatively new search engine to investigate for information pertaining to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) criteria for pathological gambling. From a total of more than 250 WAGER issues, this search yielded 223 WAGERs that mentioned DSM-IV. In many of these 223 WAGERs, ranging in topic from pathological gamblers and their income taxes to the prevalence of problem gambling in Great Britain, the DSM-IV criteria for pathological gambling was cited. Indeed, gambling researchers and WAGER editors alike commonly cite these criteria. However, rarely are the criteria displayed in entirety. Since the... Read more →

The WAGER 6(2) - Gambling From The Heart: A Salivary Perspective

Research suggests that increased heart rate is a psychophysiologic response to gambling activities like blackjack (Anderson & Brown, 1984), poker machine play (Coulombe et al., 1992; Dickerson et al., 1992; Leary & Dickerson, 1985), and horse racing (Coventry & Norman, 1997). However, no research has described gambling's effect on stress hormone secretion, as well as this effect's relationship with increased heart rate and pathological gambling severity (Meyer et al., 2000). A study conducted by Meyer et al. (2000) examined heart rate and salivary cortisol secretion in a sample of male casino blackjack players (n=10) before, during, and after play. Participants... Read more →

The WAGER 6(1) - Is There More To Gambling Than Just Winning Money?... Bingo!

A previous WAGER postulated that men actively involved with dogfighting remain engaged with this activity not solely because of the money they can win gambling on fighting dogs, but rather, because they can acquire a sense of masculinity from the betting on dogs that show "gameness" (i.e., manliness). Within this context, gambling serves at least dual purposes (i.e., gambling can be beneficial to the bettor in ways other than monetarily), since it provides not only an opportunity to win or lose, but also supplies an opportunity to enhance the bettor's social status in the community. Data collected by Chapple and... Read more →