Sports-betting-related gambling disorder: Clinical features and correlates of cognitive behavioral therapy outcomes

Gemma Mestre-Bach; Roser Granero; Bernat Mora-Maltas; Eduardo Valenciano-Mendoza; Lucero Munguía; Marc N Potenza; Jeffrey L Derevensky; Jérémie Richard; Fernando Fernández-Aranda; José M Menchón; Susana Jiménez-Murcia

doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2022.107371

Sports-betting-related gambling disorder: Clinical features and correlates of cognitive behavioral therapy outcomes

Addict Behav. 2022 Oct:133:107371. doi: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2022.107371. Epub 2022 May 18.

Affiliations

¹ Universidad Internacional de La Rioja, La Rioja, Spain. Electronic address: gemma.mestre@unir.net.
² Departament de Psicobiologia i Metodologia de les Ciències de la Salut, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; Ciber Fisiopatología Obesidad y Nutrición (CIBERObn), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain; Psychoneurobiology of Eating and Addictive Behaviors Group, Neurosciences Program, Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), 08908, Barcelona, Spain. Electronic address: Roser.Granero@uab.cat.
³ Department of Psychiatry, Bellvitge University Hospital-IDIBELL, Barcelona, Spain; Psychoneurobiology of Eating and Addictive Behaviors Group, Neurosciences Program, Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), 08908, Barcelona, Spain. Electronic address: bmora@idibell.cat.
⁴ Ciber Fisiopatología Obesidad y Nutrición (CIBERObn), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain; Department of Psychiatry, Bellvitge University Hospital-IDIBELL, Barcelona, Spain; Psychoneurobiology of Eating and Addictive Behaviors Group, Neurosciences Program, Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), 08908, Barcelona, Spain. Electronic address: edevalenciano@idibell.cat.
⁵ Department of Psychiatry, Bellvitge University Hospital-IDIBELL, Barcelona, Spain. Electronic address: lmunguia@idibell.cat.
⁶ Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA; Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA; Connecticut Mental Health Center, New Haven, CT, USA; Connecticut Council on Problem Gambling, Wethersfield, CT, USA; Department of Neuroscience, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA. Electronic address: marc.potenza@yale.edu.
⁷ Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, Québec, Canada. Electronic address: jeffrey.derevensky@mcgill.ca.
⁸ Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, Québec, Canada. Electronic address: jeremie.richard@mail.mcgill.ca.
⁹ Ciber Fisiopatología Obesidad y Nutrición (CIBERObn), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain; Department of Psychiatry, Bellvitge University Hospital-IDIBELL, Barcelona, Spain; Department of Clinical Sciences, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; Psychoneurobiology of Eating and Addictive Behaviors Group, Neurosciences Program, Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), 08908, Barcelona, Spain. Electronic address: ffernandez@bellvitgehospital.cat.
¹⁰ Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA; Department of Clinical Sciences, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; CIBER Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain; Psychiatry and Mental Health Group, Neurosciences Program, Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), 08908, Barcelona, Spain. Electronic address: jmenchon@bellvitgehospital.cat.
¹¹ Ciber Fisiopatología Obesidad y Nutrición (CIBERObn), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain; Department of Psychiatry, Bellvitge University Hospital-IDIBELL, Barcelona, Spain; Department of Clinical Sciences, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; Psychoneurobiology of Eating and Addictive Behaviors Group, Neurosciences Program, Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), 08908, Barcelona, Spain. Electronic address: sjimenez@bellvitgehospital.cat.

PMID: 35691124
DOI: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2022.107371

Abstract

Background and aims: The number of patients with gambling disorder (GD) whose gambling preference is sports betting is increasing. However, their clinical profile and their responses to psychological treatments -compared to patients with other forms of gambling- have not been thoroughly studied. Therefore, the aims of this study were: (1) to compare the clinical characteristics of GD patients whose primary gambling activity was sports betting (SB+; n = 113) with GD patients with other primary gambling activities (SB-; n = 1,135); (2) to compare treatment outcomes (dropout and relapses) between SB + and SB- patients; and (3) to explore relationships between specific variables (GD severity, psychological distress and personality features) and treatment outcome in SB + and SB- GD patients, through correlation models and path-analysis.

Methods: The cognitive behavioral treatment consisted of 16 weekly sessions. Personality features, psychopathology, and sociodemographic and clinical factors were assessed.

Results: The SB + group included higher proportions of younger patients who were single and had higher educational levels, older ages of GD onset, and greater GD severities. Regarding treatment outcomes, the dropout rate was lower in the SB + group, and no between-group differences were found regarding relapse. Dropout within the SB + group was related to being unemployed, and relapse was related to being unmarried and experiencing more psychological distress.

Discussion and conclusion: The differences between SB + and SB- GD patients suggest that GD patients with sports-betting problems may benefit from tailored therapeutic approaches.

Keywords: Addictive behaviors; Dropout; Gambling disorder; Relapse; Sports betting; Treatment outcome.

MeSH terms

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy*
Gambling* / psychology
Gambling* / therapy
Humans
Psychological Distress*
Recurrence
Sports* / psychology