A Randomized Control Trial Examining Two Treatments for Problem Gambling

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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Despite evidence of high rates of concurrent substance use and anger problems among problem gamblers, until recently there have been no empirically evaluated treatments for these co-morbid problems. A recent study (Korman, Collins, McMain, & Skinner, 2005) found that an emotion and behaviour regulation treatment (EBRT) was more effective than a gambling-only treatment-as-usual in engaging clients in treatment and in reducing gambling, anger, and substance use. This study is a replication of Korman et al's study and will compare an emotion and behaviour regulation treatment (EBRT) for problem gambling, anger and substance use to a manualized cognitive behavioural treatment (CBT) for problem gambling.

Detailed Description
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80 participants will be randomly assigned to either an emotion and behaviour regulation treatment (EBRT) or to a cognitive behavioural treatment (CBT). Randomization will be stratified by the presence of substance dependence disorder. Both treatment conditions will consist of 12 one-hour weekly outpatient individual sessions. Participants will be assessed at baseline, end of treatment, and 3-months, 6-months and 12-months follow-up.

Official Title
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A Randomized Control Trial Examining Two Treatments for Problem Gambling

Conditions
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Gambling, Pathological, Anger

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: Emotion and Behaviour Regulation Treatment (EBRT)
* Behavioral: Cognitive Behavioural Therapy


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Problem gambling (PGSI > 7; c.f., Ferris & Wynne, 2001) Clinically significant anger (STAXI-II anger expression/trait subscale score >75th percentile and/or Anger Control subscale score < 25th percentile; c.f., Spielberger, 1999) Exclusion Criteria: Major thought disorders Acute manic episode High psychopathy Severe developmental/cognitive disability Outstanding legal charges/sentencing

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 18 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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No

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Treatment
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)


Arms and Interventions

| Intervention/Treatment |
| --- |
|Behavioral: Emotion and Behaviour Regulation Treatment (EBRT)|nan|
|Behavioral: Cognitive Behavioural Therapy|nan|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Treatment Retention |  |  | 
| The Working Alliance Inventory - Client version (WAI-C) |  |  | 
| Canadian Problem Gambling Inventory(CPGI) |  |  | 
| State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory-II(STAXI-II) |  |  | 
| Addiction Severity Index: Drug and Alcohol Use section |  |  | 
| Structured Clinical Interview for the DSM-IV (SCID; APA, 1994), substance use section |  |  | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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Problem gambling, Clinically significant anger