Harvard Medical School Releases First Study Funded By The National Center For Responsible Gaming
Dec 4, 1997
KANSAS CITY, Mo.—The first study of the National Center for Responsible Gaming (NCRG) was released today by the Harvard Medical School’s Division on Addictions. The study – Estimating the Prevalence of Disordered Gambling Behavior in the United States and Canada: A Meta-Analysis – was supported by a $140,000 grant from the NCRG.
This study represents the first comprehensive meta-analysis of disordered gambling prevalence rates in the United States and Canada. Meta-analytic research empirically integrates the findings of previously conducted independent studies. The study assembled 120 individual studies of various populations conducted from 1977 through the first half of 1997. These studies represent existing research on the prevalence of disordered gambling.
The NCRG is the result of a unique partnership between industry and academia committed to providing the resources and capabilities for basic and applied scholarly research on gambling disorders. A total of $4.5 million has been pledged in support of the Center over the next 10 years.
The NCRG recently announced the award of two additional scientific research grants. The Foundation for Clinical Neuroscience Research and Education, Inc. in Cleveland, Ohio received $120,000 to fund a two-year study that will use brain imaging and blood samples to determine if there is a biochemical basis for compulsive gambling.
The City of Hope National Medical Center in Duarte, California was awarded a grant of $160,000 to support a two-year study in which researchers will look at DNA samples from pathological gamblers to examine possible genetic abnormalities in an effort to determine whether a particular gene predisposes some individuals to compulsive gambling.
Established in 1996, the National Center for Responsible Gaming is the first national organization devoted exclusively to funding research on problem and pathological gambling in order to provide a scientific basis for the development of prevention, education and treatment strategies for problem gambling.
