Leader of the research project Ahmed Kulanic emphasized at the press conference that
pathological gambling is considered by experts to be a disorder of self-control or inability to abstain from certain urge that simultaneously pleases the person but is also dangerous for him or her or persons close to them because it seriously damages the psycho-physical and even family and material circumstances.
This is a quasi-experimental pre- and posttreatment study that includes patients treated in the
Pathological Gambling and Behavioral Addictions Unit of the Consorci Sanitari de Terrassa (CST) during the year 2014.
Another 4-6 million (2-3 percent) would be considered problem gamblers; that is, they do not meet the full diagnostic criteria for
pathological gambling, but meet one of more of the criteria and are experiencing problems due to their gambling behavior.
Furthermore, one should also note that research has found that there are similar deficits between
pathological gambling and substance addiction in assessments of reflection impulsivity (Lawrence, Luty, Bogdan, Sahakian, Clark, 2009) and inhibitory response (Goudriaan, Oosterlaan, de Beurs & van den Brink, 2006).
There are higher rates of
pathological gambling in schizophrenic populations (between 4.7% and 10%) than in the non-schizophrenic population (1-5%) (Dowling et al., 2015; Haydock, Cowlishaw, Harvey, & Castle, 2015).
As the goal is early detection, both of
pathological gambling and of the risk of its development, we considered it appropriate to include the NODS CLiP, the Brief Problem Gambling Screen (without Item 3 already included in the NODS-CLiP), and Item 10 ("Chasing") of the NODS.
Several researchers have shown that the prevalence rate of
pathological gambling in North America ranges between 1% and 3% (Cunningham-Williams et al., 2005; Pietrzak & Petry, 2005; Westermeyer, Canive, Garrard, Thuras, & Thompson, 2005).
Similarly candid, Wilcox's overview of the insidious nature of
pathological gambling features an annotated sketch of the brain, a timeline of psychological studies, and extensive bibliography of print and electronic resources.
In previous studies, NAC has shown potential as a treatment for cocaine addiction, nicotine addiction, and
pathological gambling. The results of the present study suggest that NAC can also decrease methamphetamine craving.
(24) In his complaint, Trammell claimed depression as a disability, (25) but made no attempt to claim his gambling disorder as a disability (26) even though he had received a formal diagnosis of
pathological gambling in September 2007.27 This glaring gap in his pleadings likely did not result from an oversight, but reflects the reality that such a claim is currently untenable because the ADA explicitly excludes "compulsive gambling" from its definition of disability.
An extensive body of literature has demonstrated that individuals with substance use disorders and
pathological gambling discount delayed outcomes more steeply (i.e., they are more impulsive) than those without these addictive problems (sec Bickel and Marsch 2001; MacKillop et al.
Using several different criteria, the researchers found no statistically significant change in problem gambling or its more severe form,
pathological gambling. Rates of problem gambling remained in the 3.5% to 5.5% range, depending on the measure used, and rates of
pathological gambling were in the one percent to 2.4% range.