The Brief Addiction Science Information Source (BASIS)

Finding my father: Running, reconnection, and recovery from Gambling Disorder

One day, out of the blue, my father showed up in my life. I was about 8 years old or so. He’d been there all along, actually; living in the house with us, caught up in a gambling addiction that financially and emotionally decimated our family. But that is not the man I think of as my father. That man was living a lie, was overweight, was smoking, and was focused on feeding his addiction. That man hit rock bottom and began a twelve step program of recovery. And the man who was born at that time decided that running... Read more →

The DRAM, Vol. 15(3) - Shots on goal: Depictions of drinking in sports betting commercials

This week, as part of our special series on Gambling Disorder, The DRAM reviews a study by Hibai Lopez-Gonzalez and colleagues that examines the depiction of alcohol consumption in online sports betting commercials. Read more →

Gambling Disorder Screening Day 2019: Supporting Growth & Spreading the Word

On March 12, 2019, the Division on Addiction is supporting the 6th annual Gambling Disorder Screening Day event. During past years (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018), our annual announcement of this event on The BASIS has highlighted the importance of screening, celebrated widespread national and international participation, and repeated calls for key stakeholders to embrace screening for gambling-related problems in multiple contexts. When we first promoted Gambling Disorder Screening Day, we didn’t imagine that it would turn into one of our most popular outreach activities. However, because of key supporters and organizations who have engaged in screening events, Gambling Disorder... Read more →

Introduction to the Special Series on Gambling Disorder

Here at The BASIS, we have a tradition of dedicating every March to the topic of Gambling Disorder. Our focus coincides with Problem Gambling Awareness Month, an initiative of the National Council on Problem Gambling designed to raise awareness of prevention, treatment, and recovery services. Read more →

STASH, Vol. 14(12) - Recovery is impacted by our social connections

This week, as part of our Special Series on Self-Directed Recovery, STASH reviews a study by Elizabeth Elms and colleagues that explored how peer substance use habits relate to successful self-directed recovery. Read more →

ASHES, Vol. 14(12) - Bad moods and anxious feelings: Factors influencing self-guided quit attempts

This week, as part of our Special Series on Self-Directed Recovery, ASHES covers a study by Kirsten Langdon and colleagues that investigated the influence of anxiety sensitivity and negative affect on people who are attempting to quit smoking on their own. Read more →

The Natural History of My Research on the Natural History of Gambling Disorder

In an op-ed today, Dr. Wendy Slutske describes how she came to study self-directed change among people with Gambling Disorder as well as the results of some of these studies. Read more →

The DRAM, Vol.14(12) - Always an alcoholic? Drinking identity transitions in self-directed alcohol recovery

This week, as part of our Special Series on Self-Directed Recovery, The DRAM reviews a study by Kevin Montes and colleagues that examined the relationship between self-identification as a problem drinker and the course of self-directed recovery from alcohol use disorder. Read more →

The WAGER, Vol. 23(11) - Do people with severe gambling-related problems recover on their own?

This week, as part of our Special Series on Self-Directed Recovery, The WAGER reviews a study by Vladyslav Kushnir and colleagues that explores how changes in severity of gambling-related problems and gambling behaviors over time relate to self-directed change. Read more →

Introduction to the Special Series on Self-Directed Recovery

Today, we launch the Special Series on Self-Directed Recovery, to celebrate the many pathways to recovery. Read more →