Clinical trial NCT01135264: Cognitive-Motivational Behavior Therapy for Pathological Gamblers
Official title: Gambling Addiction: Treatment Mediators and Moderators
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Pathological Gambling
Lead sponsor: New York State Psychiatric Institute
Sponsor class: OTHER
Collaborators: name: National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
First posted: 2010-06-02
Enrollment: 170
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Maximum age (years): 75
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: TREATMENT

Brief summary: In the proposed two-arm randomized controlled trial, 200 patients meeting DSM-IV criteria for PG will be randomized to 12 sessions of Cognitive-Motivational Behavior Therapy (CMBT) or to Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT).

Detailed description: CMBT has been developed by our team over the last five years, and has shown very promising results in a small, NIMH-funded randomized pilot trial (R21 MH 064568). We will assess patients biweekly during the active treatment phase and follow them for 12 months after the end of treatment to obtain data on long-term treatment outcome. We hypothesize that CMBT will show higher efficacy and retention than CBT in the treatment phase, and that gains will be maintained at a higher rate during follow-up.

A second major purpose of the proposed study is to elucidate the presumed mechanisms of change by examining potential mediators (readiness to change, irrational beliefs about gambling, coping skills, therapeutic alliance) and moderators (psychiatric comorbidity with Axis I and II disorders, family history of PG, impulsivity, and baseline motivation to change) of treatment response. A better understanding of how the proposed interventions work will help advance the science and treatment of PG and will be helpful in the future refinement and adaptation of CMBT. Identifying patient subgroups for which the intervention is particularly effective is essential for rational treatment selection. Thus, the immediate goal of the project is to compare CBMT versus CBT for the treatment of PG. A long-term goal of the proposed research is to establish effective treatment procedures that reduce the considerable individual and social costs of PG.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* pathological gambling
* be able to read, understand and sign an informed consent form prior to any procedure and must be willing to comply with all study procedures and timelines

Exclusion Criteria:

* to meet DSM-IV criteria for comorbid substance use disorders in the last six months
* current comorbid psychiatric conditions which require treatment and are not clearly secondary to pathological gambling
* psychotropic medication

Primary outcomes:
measure: patient retention
timeFrame: 60 weeks
Secondary outcomes:
measure: gambling behavior
timeFrame: 60 weeks
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: New York
country: United States
facility: New York Psychiatric Institute
state: New York
Study officials:
affiliation: New York Psychiatric Institute
name: Carlos Blanco, M.D.
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References:
citation: Blanco C, Potenza MN, Kim SW, Ibanez A, Zaninelli R, Saiz-Ruiz J, Grant JE. A pilot study of impulsivity and compulsivity in pathological gambling. Psychiatry Res. 2009 May 15;167(1-2):161-8. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2008.04.023. Epub 2009 Apr 1.
citation: Blanco C, Hasin DS, Petry N, Stinson FS, Grant BF. Sex differences in subclinical and DSM-IV pathological gambling: results from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions. Psychol Med. 2006 Jul;36(7):943-53. doi: 10.1017/S0033291706007410. Epub 2006 May 2.
citation: Okuda M, Balan I, Petry NM, Oquendo M, Blanco C. Cognitive-behavioral therapy for pathological gambling: cultural considerations. Am J Psychiatry. 2009 Dec;166(12):1325-30. doi: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2009.08081235.
citation: Wulfert E, Blanchard EB, Freidenberg BM, Martell RS. Retaining pathological gamblers in cognitive behavior therapy through motivational enhancement: A pilot study. Behav Modif. 2006 May;30(3):315-40. doi: 10.1177/0145445503262578.
citation: Wulfert E, Maxson J, Jardin B. Cue-specific reactivity in experienced gamblers. Psychol Addict Behav. 2009 Dec;23(4):731-5. doi: 10.1037/a0017134.
citation: Wulfert E, Franco C, Williams K, Roland B, Maxson JH. The role of money in the excitement of gambling. Psychol Addict Behav. 2008 Sep;22(3):380-390. doi: 10.1037/0893-164X.22.3.380.