Controlled Comparison of Aversive Therapy and Imaginal Desensitization in Compulsive Gambling

Abstract

Twenty compulsive gamblers were randomly allocated, half to receive aversion-relief therapy and half to receive imaginal desensitization; both groups were followed-up for one year. Compared with those who received aversion-relief, gamblers who received imaginal desensitization reported a significantly greater reduction of gambling urge and behaviour; they also showed a significant reduction in trait anxiety at one year and in state anxiety at one month and one year following treatment. A high level of state anxiety at one month following treatment predicted failure to respond to treatment at one year in the subjects who received imaginal desensitization, but not in those who received aversion-relief. The relationship between reduction in anxiety and in gambling urge in response to imaginal desensitization was predicted from the theory that compulsive gambling is driven by aversive tension.

Compulsive Aspects of Impulse-Control Disorders

“…In the first study, both treatments resulted in improvement in a small sample of patients [40]. In the second study, 120 pathologic gamblers were assigned randomly to aversion therapy, imaginal desensitization, in vivo desensitization, or imaginal relaxation.…”

A Preliminary, Qualitative Exploration of the Influences Associated with Drop-Out from Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy for Problem Gambling: An Australian Perspective

“…Anderson & Brown, 1984;McConaghy, Armstrong, Blaszczynski, & Allcock, 1983); those who are emotionally vulnerable to problem gambling through family history (e.g. Lesieur & Rothschild, 1989), those with predisposing personality characteristics and life events (e.g.…”

Avances en el tratamiento del juego patológico

“…En concreto, los tratamientos más utilizados han sido las técnicas aversivas (Barker y Miller, 1968;Seager, 1970), la reestructuración cognitiva (Bannister, 1977;, la intención paradójica (Victor y Krug, 1967), la desensibilización imaginada (McConaghy, Armstrong, Blaszczynski y Allcock, 1983, 1988, la exposición en vivo y el control de estímulos Greenberg y Rankin, 1982) y la terapia de grupo cognitivo-conductual Turón, Salgado, González y Vicente, 1990 más recientemente, se han comenzado a aplicar programas específicos de intervención psicofarmacológi-ca (Hollander, Frenkel, DeCaria, Trungold y Stein, 1992;Saiz-Ruiz, 1992;Turón et al, 1990).…”

“…En consonancia con esta hipótesis explicativa McConaghy et al (1983) diseñaron un programa de intervención. Para ello llevaron a cabo un estudio con 20 sujetos, en el que asignaron 10 a una modalidad de desensibilización imaginada y otros 10 a una modalidad de terapia aversiva.…”