The Brief Addiction Science Information Source (BASIS)

The Wager, Volume 8(9) - Location, Location, Location: Casino Accessibility and Prevalence Rates

The expansion of legalized gambling during recent years has spawned debate on whether or not increased availability of gaming venues has led to a corresponding increase in the prevalence of problem and pathological gambling. Since emotions run deep among both supporters and opponents of gambling, objective scientific data is essential to advance this discussion. This week the WAGER addresses possible links between gambling exposure and gambling disorders by examining existing scientific literature focused on this issue. The National Opinion Research Center (NORC) reported that the availability of a casino within a 50 mile radius of a person’s home is associated... Read more →

The Wager, Volume 8(8) - Sinatra: Sinner or Saint?

This week The WAGER announces the release of the fourth volume of the Harvard Medical School Division on Addictions web initiative, Addictions & the Humanities. The aim of this initiative is to create a public forum to discuss literature, art, music, and performing arts related to addictions, including pathological gambling. Science and technology will always help us understand addiction, but truth also may be revealed by examining art. Below is a segment of an article from the fourth issue of Addictions & The Humanities that examines Frank Sinatra's association with alcohol in his performances and private life. Frank Sinatra: The... Read more →

The Wager, Volume 8(7) - Problem Gambling and Intimate Partner Violence

Excessive gambling can introduce many problems into the home including intimate partner violence (IPV). This week’s WAGER examines a study designed to empirically test the relationship between problem gambling and IPV (Muelleman, DenOtter, Wadman, Tran, & Anderson, 2002). Mueleman et al.’s study sample consisted of women aged 19 to 65 who were admitted to the emergency department at the University Hospital of Nebraska Health System. A researcher was stationed in the emergency department for random four- or eight-hour blocks covering each day of the week from June to August, 1999. The researcher approached 300 women who met inclusion criteria (i.e.,... Read more →

The Wager, Vol. 8 - Editorial, Letters

For past editorials, click here. The views expressed in this section are solely the views of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of The WAGER, its sponsors, or affiliated organizations. Letters to the Editors The WAGER receives many letters from active readers in response to the issues and editorials it posts every week. Starting this week, we will periodically share these letters on our op-ed/editorials page. We are interested in what you have to say and hope that you will read through these comments and send in comments of your own. We feel that such correspondence will... Read more →

The Wager, Volume 8(6) - Abstinence or Relapse? Outcomes of Gambling Treatment Programs

There are few scientific studies in the published literature examining treatment outcomes. Even fewer focus on the extended outcome of gambling treatment. The first statewide gambling treatment outcome study, published in 2001 (Stinchfield & Winters), examined the self-reported gambling behavior of former patients at four state-sponsored gambling treatment programs in Minnesota. This week’s WAGER considers the results of this study. Stinchfield and Winters collected data from 592 (348 male) patients admitted for treatment at one of four Minnesota gambling treatment programs between January 1992 and January 1995. The four treatment programs varied slightly in treatment modality and duration; however, each... Read more →