Supervisors info:
Μαλλιώρη Μινέρβα-Μελπομένη, Καθηγήτρια, Ιατρική, ΕΚΠΑ,
Παπαρρηγόπουλος Θωμάς, Αναπληρωτής Καθηγητής, Ιατρική, ΕΚΠΑ,
Δουζένης Αθανάσιος, Αναπληρωτής Καθηγητής, ΕΚΠΑ.
Summary:
Introduction: Despite economic crisis, it seems that gambling is characterized by an increasing tension during the last years. Relevant studies have proven that comorbidity exists between gambling, other psychiatric disorders and the use of addictive substances (Petry, 2006, 2005; Kessler et al., 2008; Lorains et al., 2011).
Propose of the current dissertation is the investigation of the factors that are associated with increased psychopathology and the use of alcohol in people diagnosed with gambling disorder.
Methodology: A follow-up study was conducted in a sample of 60 subjects. Data of the relavant study were collected by therapists of the rehabilitation program in order to maintain files of the unit’s beneficiaries. For the randomization of the sample, the first 20 beneficiaries per order for the years 2016, 2017 and 2018 were selected. The questionaries that were chosen for analysis were relevant both to the assessment of gamblers’ therapeutic volition and to psychopathology treatment request index (Symptom Checklist-90-Revised, SCL-90-r, Derogatis et al., 1973) of unit’s beneficiaries.
Results: The vast majority of participants have experienced high rates of problems in their family life (divorce, sexual relations, relationships with children), their psychological function (mood, anxiety, depression), their financial situation, their social lives (friends, hobbies) and their professional function (reduced performance, absences, lags). Some very interesting results concerned participants who played sports-betting. Those participants showed more physical, obsessive compulsive and depressive symptoms, as well as, increased interpersonal sensitivity and aggression, compared to those who did not play sports-betting (p<0,05). In relation to use of addictive substances, almost half of the participants, in a percentage of 46.7%, complained that they smoked (nicotine dependence), meanwhile, a percentage of 13.3% of the participants complained that they were using drugs systematically and a percentage of 11.7% of the participants complained that they were using alcohol.
Conclusions: The results of this dissertation demonstrate, on the one hand, that gambling is characterized by a comorbidity with other psychiatric disorders (as confirmed by the international researches), on the other hand, the fact that implementation of special treatment programs is required, in order to treat both gambling and other psychopathies that may be related with gambling.
Keywords:
Gambling, Comorbidity, Alcohol, Psychopathies
