Gambling a High-Risk Addiction According to Harvard Mental Health Letter
PR Newswire - February 11, 2004BOSTON, Feb 11, 2004 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Though for some people gambling at a casino or racetrack may be a fun way to pass an afternoon, more and more people are finding they can't control their habit. Out-of-control gambling is on the rise, and is now recognized as a psychiatric disorder and a challenge for mental health treatment. According to the National Council on Problem Gambling, about 1% of American adults-nearly 3 million people-are compulsive gamblers.
The March issue of the Harvard Mental Health Letter says Compulsive gamblers are constantly thinking about past bets, planning the next ones, and all the while searching for the money to support their addiction. Most compulsive gamblers are men, but the problem is also growing amongst women. African Americans have a higher rate of compulsive gambling than whites, and the rate is about twice the average among those living within 50 miles of a casino.
Although the American Psychiatric Association formally classifies gambling addiction as an impulse control disorder, it usually follows the typical pattern of addiction-Depression or alcohol abuse typically accompanies it, and it's hard to tell which came first.
The treatment of a gambling addiction is similar to that of alcoholism and drug addiction, according to the Harvard Mental Health Letter. Methods include: psychodynamic therapy, 12-step groups, motivational interviewing, and cognitive-behavioral therapies-are often used in combination. Although some treatment is almost certainly better than none, there are few controlled trials of therapies. Behavioral and cognitive therapies have been the most studied, and they seem to be effective, at least in the short term.
Harvard Mental Health Letter is available from Harvard Health Publications, the publishing division of the Harvard Medical School. You can subscribe to Harvard Mental Health Letter for $59 per year at www.health.harvard.edu or by calling 1-877-649-9457 toll-free.
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Harvard Health Publications publishes five monthly newsletters-Harvard Health Letter, Harvard Women's Health Watch, Harvard Men's Health Watch, Harvard Mental Health Letter, and Harvard Heart Letter-as well as more than 50 special health reports and books drawing on the expertise of the 8,000 faculty physicians at Harvard Medical School and its world-famous affiliated hospitals. For more information about Harvard Medical School publications, please visit our Web site, www.health.harvard.edu.
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