Primary Outcome Measures:
- Addiction Severity Index (ASI)-gambling severity scores [ Time Frame: measured at baseline, Week 6, and 9 months ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
- Amount spent gambling [ Time Frame: measured at baseline, Week 6, and 9 months ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
- Days gambled [ Time Frame: measured at baseline, Week 6, and 9 months ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
- Proportion meeting problem gambling criteria [ Time Frame: measured at baseline, Week 6, and 9 months ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
- Proportion abstinent [ Time Frame: measured at baseline, Week 6, and 9 months ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
Secondary Outcome Measures:
- Psychosocial functioning [ Time Frame: measured at baseline, Week 6, and 9 months ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
Gambling, if done compulsively, can cause psychological, physical, social, and vocational problems. Problem gambling, or compulsive gambling, is a progressive addiction characterized by a preoccupation with gambling, a need to bet more money more frequently, restlessness or irritability when attempting to stop, and gambling more to make up for losses. This study will compare four different combinations and durations of motivational enhancement therapy (MET), cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), and brief advice treatments for gambling versus a non-intervention condition to determine which is most effective in reducing problem gambling.
This open-label study will last a total of 9 months. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of four groups. Group 1 will have no intervention and will be instructed to call if they experience any gambling problems. Group 2 will receive 5 minutes of education on the hazards of heavy gambling. In addition, they will receive a 1-page brochure on problem gambling and its consequences. Group 3 will receive a 1-hour session of MET focused on increasing commitment to change by raising awareness of personal consequences of gambling. Group 4 will receive the same MET session as Group 3, as well as three 1-hour sessions of CBT focused on identifying specific social and mood cues associated with gambling. Treatment will end at Week 4. Participants will have two follow-up sessions held over the phone at Week 6 and again 9 months after enrollment. Gambling behavior, employment status, alcohol and drug use, psychiatric problems, and family problems will be assessed.