Poker, Skills and Associated Problems
Condition: Pathological Gambling
MeSH terms: Gambling
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      The PERHAPS project aims to fill two gaps in the scientific literature: on the one hand,
      studying the clinical and cognitive particularities of poker-related problems, and on the
      other hand, studying poker skill as a combination of multiple cognitive and emotional
      abilities. The underlying clinical aim is to develop a cognitive remediation therapy program
      dedicated to pathological gamblers.
    

Detailed description: 
      In the literature, although compulsive poker players undoubtedly share similarities with the
      compulsive gamblers of other gambling games, clinicians have observed significant
      specificities in these patients, in terms of personality profile, gaming practices and
      associated troubles. These specificities could influence the effectiveness of treatment and
      prevention strategies in many ways. However, there are very few studies focused on the
      specific poker-related problems, particularly compared to other practices.

      Furthermore, skill at poker has often been treated as a unique and general ability. This
      binary vision is now considered widely insufficient and most researchers recommend exploring
      the individual cognitive abilities at play in poker skill. To the investigators knowledge, no
      study has done this to date.

      Consequently, the PERHAPS project aims to fill two gaps in the scientific literature: on the
      one hand, studying the clinical and cognitive particularities of poker-related problems, and
      on the other hand, studying poker skill as a combination of multiple cognitive and emotional
      abilities.

      Three profiles of poker players will be studied, depending on their gambling practices and
      whether or not they are addicted: a control group of 30 non-poker players, a group of 30
      expert unproblematic poker players, and a group of 30 pathological poker players.

      The three groups will be compared with one another on:

        -  Cognitive and emotional abilities (for expert players) or deficits (for pathological
           gamblers)

        -  Clinical particularities of poker-related problems

      Secondarily (ancillary study), pathological poker gamblers will be compared with pathological
      gamblers of other gambling games (pure chance games n=30 and quasi-skill games n=30).

      The PERHAPS project aims to improve knowledge of gambling addiction, particularly as regards
      poker, in order to optimise prevention and care strategies. The clinical aim is especially to
      construct a cognitive remediation therapy program. It also intends to discuss the legal
      framework applied to poker under the gambling regulation.
    

Intervention name(s): cognitive, emotional and clinical assessment
Intervention type(s): Behavioral
Intervention description(s): Cognitive and emotional assessment: Posner paradigm applied to emotional information (attention and emotional perception abilities), the modified Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (mental flexibility), the Hayling Sentence Completion Task (verbal inhibition), the Go - No Go test (motor inhibition) and the expressive suppression method (facial expression inhibition) Clinical assessment: gambling course and habits, level of cognitive distortions, control attribution (locus of control), social phobia, motivation for gambling, impulsivity, co-addictions, coping and gambling related-damage
Allocation: Non-Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary purpose: Prevention
Keywords: experimental study; cognitive mechanisms; poker; cognitive remediation therapy