Introduction: Gambling disorder (GD) is classified among the addictive disorders in the DSM-5 and the severity of the diagnosis can be specified as mild, moderate and severe. It has been seen that individuals with more severe gambling problems have a higher rate of comorbid disorders and other health problems compared to individuals with a milder clinical picture. Aims: The aim of this study was to explore clinical psychiatric differences related to the severity of disorder in treatment-seeking patients with GD. Method: A sample of 163 patients with GD seeking treatment at an outpatient clinic was diagnosed using the SCI-GD, screened for comorbid diagnoses using the MINI, and further completed a range of self-report questionnaires measuring alcohol-, and drug-problems, symptoms of depression and anxiety, emotion regulation, cognitive distortions, and quality of life. Results: Greater severity was associated to more problems with alcohol and illicit drugs. Severe gamblers were more likely to gamble to “escape”, and had more symptoms of depression and anxiety. Participants with moderate and severe gambling disorder had more difficulties with emotion regulation. Cognitive distortions were the same between severities. All groups had Quality-of-Life problems at a clinical level. Discussion: There are some distinctive differences between GD of different severities. The features shown by patients with severe GD indicates a more emotionally vulnerable group with increased symptom severity. Further knowledge about the features of GD severity levels is important for treatment planning in the clinic.

The 20-item Gamblers’ Beliefs Questionnaire (GBQ) is used to identify cognitive distortions commonly had by gamblers. There is a great need for psychometrically validated instruments for both treatment and research purposes in the field of gambling addiction in Sweden. The purpose of this study was to validate a Swedish translation of the GBQ by assessing internal consistency, convergent validity, known-groups validity, the two-factor structure of the GBQ, and scaling success. The GBQ was translated into Swedish (GBQ-SE) and validated in a sample of 402 Swedish speaking women (47.9%) and men (52.1%) between 18–86 years, representing undergraduates, a working population, and people with current or historical gambling problems. The GBQ-SE showed excellent internal consistency and moderate relationships with instruments of problem gambling severity. We also showed that problem gamblers tend to endorse more gambling related distortions than non-problem gamblers by finding a significantly higher level of cognitive distortions in the problem gambler group. We were not able to confirm the two-factor structure in our sample. When assessing scaling success an overlap for eight of twenty of the items between the subscales was found. We conclude that the GBQ-SE is valid as a general instrument of gambling related cognitive distortions. It can be used to aid in treatment planning with gambling addicted clients, to evaluate treatment outcome, and for research purposes.

IntroductionThe purpose of this study was to explore clinical differences in Swedish treatment-seeking men and women with gambling disorder (GD). As the prevalence of GD is increasing among women, even though men are still highly overrepresented, the characteristic differences between men and women seeking treatment become increasingly important.MethodA sample of 204 patients with GD (26.5% women and 73.5% men) at an outpatient clinic were diagnosed using the SCI-GD, screened for comorbid diagnoses using the MINI, and further completed a range of self-report questionnaires measuring demographics, GD, alcohol and other drug problems, symptoms of depression and anxiety, and pathways into gambling problems.ResultsSeveral characteristics differed between treatment-seeking men and women in our sample. Examples of differences between genders included age, onset age, living situation, duration, alcohol and drug problems, comorbidity, and pathways leading to gambling problems.DiscussionThe most evident difference was that women, in addition to GD, showed more symptoms of anxiety and depression than men, while men had a higher degree of substance use problems compared to women. The differences in clinical features between men and women are important to consider in treatment planning and possibly for future gender-based interventions.

Background: Gaming disorder (GD) is a brand-new diagnosis included for the first time in the latest edition of the International Classification of Disease -11. Recently conducted international studies suggest a prevalence rate close to 2% for GD, highlighting the need for effective treatments for this patient population. Internationally there are very few studies investigating effective treatments for this condition. In this pilot study, we wanted to test a newly developed method, the Swedish GOT-TO-GO manual; a 15-week cognitive behavioral therapy treatment for GD. Method: This study utilized a single group design with pretest, post-test and a 3 and 6 month follow up with measures of severity of GD and mood. Patients (n=20) were treatment-seeking adults with GD (mean age 27). Results: Results show a statistically significant decrease in symptoms of GD after treatment. Hours of gaming per week also decreased concomitant with a 100 % increase in non-gaming leisure hours. The decrease in symptoms of GD was sustained at follow up 6 months after treatment. Correspondingly we saw a decrease in depression that was sustained 6 months after treatment. The drop-out rate was 20% and we were able to recruit 20 patients during the study period. Conclusion: As GD is a new diagnostic concept more research is needed to arrive at evidence-based conclusions on effective treatments. Considering the promising results in this small pilot study with large behavioral changes and reduced symptoms of GD, upheld at least 6 months after treatment, a larger randomized controlled study is warranted and considered to be feasible based on recruitment and drop-out rates. Trial registration: CBT treatment of gaming disorder (IGD RCT), NCT05328596 Registered 14 April 2022 - Retrospectively registered, https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/study/NCT05328596?term=NCT05328596&draw=2&rank=1