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A Longitudinal Examination of Depression Among Gambling Inpatients

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Abstract

Problem and pathological gamblers demonstrate high levels of depression, which may be related to coping styles, reactive emotional states, and/or genetics (Potenza et al., Arch Gen Psychiat 62(9):1015–1021, 2005; Getty et al., J Gambl Stud 16(4):377–391, 2000). Although depression impacts treatment outcomes (Morefield et al., Int J Men Healt Addict 12(3):367–379, 2013), research regarding depression among gamblers in residential treatment is particularly limited. This study attempts to address this deficit by examining the course of depressive symptoms among clients at a residential gambling program in the Western United States. Forty-four adults were administered a weekly measure of depression (Beck Depression Inventory-II, BDI-II) for eight consecutive weeks. Levels of depression were classified into three groups based on standard scoring criteria for the BDI-II: no/minimal, mild/moderate, and severe depression. Results from a mixed-model analysis indicated a main effect for group and time, as well as an interaction between group and time. Examination of the slopes for the rate of change for the three depression groups indicated no change in the non-depressed group and a decrease in depression scores over time for both the mild/moderate and severely depressed groups. The slopes for the two symptomatic depression groups were not significantly different, indicating a similar rate of change. We speculate that reductions in depression symptoms may be related to feelings of self-efficacy, environmental containment/stabilization, and therapeutic effects of treatment. These results help to illuminate the role of significant processes in residential treatment, including initial stabilization, insight, self-efficacy, and termination.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Dr. Richard Rosenthal and Yael Landa, M.A., whom aided in the preparation of this manuscript. At the time of the study, Jacquelene Moghaddam, Ph.D. was a Scholar with the HIV/AIDS, Substance Abuse, and Trauma Training Program (HA-STTP), at the University of California, Los Angeles; supported through an award from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (R25 DA035692).

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) Gambling Studies Program, UCLA Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, 760 Westwood Plaza, Suite 38-181, Los Angeles, CA, 90095-1759, USA

    Jacquelene F. Moghaddam, Michael D. Campos, Cynthia Myo, Rory C. Reid & Timothy W. Fong

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  1. Jacquelene F. Moghaddam
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  2. Michael D. Campos
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  3. Cynthia Myo
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  4. Rory C. Reid
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  5. Timothy W. Fong
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Correspondence to Jacquelene F. Moghaddam.

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Moghaddam, J.F., Campos, M.D., Myo, C. et al. A Longitudinal Examination of Depression Among Gambling Inpatients. J Gambl Stud 31, 1245–1255 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-014-9518-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-014-9518-6

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