The Gambling Symptom Assessment Scale (G-SAS): a reliability and validity study

Psychiatry Res. 2009 Mar 31;166(1):76-84. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2007.11.008. Epub 2009 Feb 5.

Abstract

Two hundred seven patients with DSM-IV Pathological Gambling Disorder completed both the Gambling Symptom Assessment Scale (G-SAS) and the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale--modified for Pathological Gambling (PG-YBOCS) at baseline visit and weekly or biweekly thereafter during the 12-week study period. The week 1 to week 2 visit data were used to assess test-retest reliability. Weekly or biweekly data were used for the G-SAS validity. The PG-YBOCS reliability and validity data have been published previously. We used the PG-YBOCS as the established scale and compared the G-SAS performance with the PG-YBOCS. Test-retest reliability was statistically significant. The correlations between the G-SAS and the PG-YBOCS and Clinical Global Impression rating were excellent. Findings suggest that the G-SAS is reliable and valid in assessing changes in symptoms during a drug treatment study.

Publication types

  • Multicenter Study
  • Randomized Controlled Trial
  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Disruptive, Impulse Control, and Conduct Disorders / diagnosis*
  • Disruptive, Impulse Control, and Conduct Disorders / psychology
  • Follow-Up Studies
  • Gambling / psychology*
  • Humans
  • Naltrexone / analogs & derivatives
  • Naltrexone / therapeutic use
  • Narcotic Antagonists / therapeutic use
  • Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / diagnosis*
  • Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / psychology
  • Personality Inventory / statistics & numerical data*
  • Psychometrics / statistics & numerical data
  • Reproducibility of Results

Substances

  • Narcotic Antagonists
  • Naltrexone
  • nalmefene