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3. GAMBLING CRAVING AND ITS RELATION TO ADDICTION AND PERSONALITY

By: Dr. Nady el-Guebaly (Principal Investigator) -- Project Approved 2000-01

This project explored whether gambling craving among pathological gamblers is similar or different from alcohol craving among alcohol-dependent individuals, and what is the relation of craving to personality structure. Dr. Nady el-Guebaly (PI), Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Calgary; Dr. Hermano Tavares (CI), Department of Psychiatry, Sao Paulo Medical School, Addiction Centre/University of Calgary; Dr. David Hodgins (CI), Department of Psychology, University of Calgary.

Status (Complete):

Forty alcohol dependent subjects (20 male and 20 female) and 40 pathological gamblers (20 male and 20 female) were recruited. They were diagnosed according to DSM-IV criteria (APA 1994). Media advertisement invited subjects 'concerned about their gambling/drinking, willing to abstain' (with a timeframe minimum of 5 days, and maximum of 20 days, the rationale being to choose a period where withdrawal physical symptoms would be minimal and craving at its potential peak. Subjects were matched by gender, age, and edication to prevent bias from different backgrounds. An additional sample of 36 (18 male and 18 female) healthy control volunteers was recruited to serve as reference for the personality scores.

The high craving scores obtained in this study suggest that craving might be a disturbing experience for gamblers undergoing treatment and a potential cause for relapse. By comparing a model of behavioral addiction (problem gambling) to a substance addiction (alcohol), this study underscores the importance of non-pharmacological factors like personality, subjective emotional experience and emotional withdrawal in shaping craving and potentially other addiction phenomena (eg. tolerance). Gambling craving may be more similar to cocaine than to alcohol craving. Related publications include one book chapter, two published research articles and two others are pending. Five oral and five poster presentations were made in addition to Dr. Tavares, a co-principal investigator, received the 2002 Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Award by the National Council for Problem Gambling.

Tavares, H., Zilberman, M. L., Beites, F. J., & Gentil, V. (2001). Gender differences in gambling progression. Journal of Gambling Studies, 17(2), 151-159.
doi:10.1023/A:1016620513381

Tavares, H., Martins, S. S., Zilberman, M. L., & el-Guebaly, N. (2002). Gamblers and treatment-seeking: Why haven't they come earlier? Addictive Disorders and their treatment, 1(2), 65-69.

Tavares, H., Martins, S. S., Lobo, D. S., Silveira, C., Gentil, V., & Hodgins, D. C. (2003). Factors at play in faster progression for female pathological gamblers: An explanatory analysis. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 64, 433-438.

Tavares, H., Zilberman, M. L., & el-Guebaly, N. (2003). Are there cognitive and behavioral approaches specific to the treatment of pathological gambling? Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 48, 22–27.

Blume, S. B., & Tavares, H. Pathological gambling. (2004). In Lowinson, J., Ruiz, P., Millman, R. B., Langrodet, J. G. (Eds.). Substance Abuse: A Comprehensive Textbook. 4th Edition. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Tavares, H., Zilberman, M. L., Hodgins, D. C., & el-Guebaly, N. (2005). Comparison of Craving Between Pathological Gamblers and Alcoholics. Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, 29(8), 1427-1431.
doi:10.1097/01.alc.0000175071.22872.98

The Alberta Gaming Research Institute provides grant funding to support peer-endorsed academic investigations into many aspects of gambling research. The contents, recommendations, and findings of the associated research reports, posted on this website, represent the views of the researcher(s).

 Last Updated: 09/01/05

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• Research Reveals, Volume 2, Issue 1 (.PDF 461K)