behavioral addiction

Part two of the series recapping Dr. Howard Shaffer’s keynote address at the 25^th National Conference on Problem Gambling in Boston, Mass. To read part one of the Gambling Disorders 360° series, click here.

After laying the foundation for his presentation by outlining the theoretical revolutions that have defined our understanding of gambling disorders, Dr. Howard Shaffer then proposed that the next revolution in understanding gambling disorders will come from the way online gambling behavior can now be studied. Until recently, information about people’s gambling behavior has come almost exclusively from self-report (asking a person questions about their past gambling behaviors). Self-report is considered to be acceptably accurate by the scientific community, but it relies on recollections of individuals that may be influenced by a variety of factors such as desire to please interviewers or to downplay losses. For years these problems with self-reported data have presented a challenge to researchers studying gambling disorders. However, Dr. Shaffer suggested that new innovations in research methods will decrease the role of self-report and allow researchers to look directly at the gambling behavior of online gamblers.

Addiction researchers have found associations between numerous addictive behaviors, with individuals often being involved with many addictive substances and behaviors at the same time. Though this relationship is common, it is not well understood. The intermingling relationships of less thoroughly studied addictive behaviors, such as gambling and prescription drug misuse (PDM), are particularly unclear. A recent study led by Cheryl Currie, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Alberta, Canada, was published in the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry and explores the relationship between prescription drug misuse, demographics and addictive behaviors including gambling (Currie, Schopflocher, & Wild, 2011). Currie won the Outstanding Poster Award at the 2010 NCRG Conference on Gambling and Addiction, and discussed early findings from this study with us in an audio interview conducted at the conference.       

A Sunday-evening breakout session at the 11^th annual NCRG Conference on Gambling and Addiction focused on the effectiveness of behavioral strategies and pharmacological (drug) treatments for disordered gambling.

The study of addiction often involves quantifying personal information to make it usable in objective research. This process is an important part of developing sound science that increases understanding about gambling disorders and related addictions, and can inform the development of effective prevention, treatment and education efforts. In efforts to raise awareness about addictive disorders and address the stigma surrounding them, the arts can help translate scientific topics into compelling educational information for a broader audience.

One example of the arts helping to translate science is “Expressions of Addiction,” an online collection of photographs taken by addictions researcher and award-winning photographer Dr. Howard J. Shaffer. Expressions of Addiction was created to increase awareness and understanding of addiction and contribute to community programs and resources to prevent and treat addiction. The exhibit features pictures of people in various stages and expressions of addiction, including problems with alcohol, drugs and gambling, along with descriptions of how addiction has affected their lives. Shaffer, a licensed psychologist and director of the Division on Addictions at Cambridge Health Alliance, is one of the foremost researchers on gambling disorders.

The study of addiction often involves quantifying personal information to make it usable in objective research. This process is an important part of developing sound science that increases understanding about gambling disorders and related addictions, and can inform the development of effective prevention, treatment and education efforts. In efforts to raise awareness about addictive disorders and address the stigma surrounding them, the arts can help translate scientific topics into compelling educational information for a broader audience.

One example of the arts helping to translate science is “Expressions of Addiction,” an online collection of photographs taken by addictions researcher and award-winning photographer Dr. Howard J. Shaffer. Expressions of Addiction was created to increase awareness and understanding of addiction and contribute to community programs and resources to prevent and treat addiction. The exhibit features pictures of people in various stages and expressions of addiction, including problems with alcohol, drugs and gambling, along with descriptions of how addiction has affected their lives. Shaffer, a licensed psychologist and director of the Division on Addictions at Cambridge Health Alliance, is one of the foremost researchers on gambling disorders.

The American Psychiatric Association currently is in the process of updating the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders to its fifth edition (DSM-V). The DSM is the handbook of mental disorders in the United States, used daily by health care providers, researchers, insurance companies and government agencies. The DSM-V Work Group that reviewed the diagnosis for pathological gambling has proposed several changes to the diagnostic definition of the disorder. Revisions in diagnostic codes are typically driven by evolving research that transforms our understanding of a disorder, and so this month’s Issues & Insights summarizes several studies that question the current definition of pathological gambling and, in some cases, might inform the final recommendations for the DSM-V.