Although prior studies have examined various clinical characteristics of pathological gambling (PG), limited data exist regarding the clinical correlates of PG based on preferred forms of gambling.
Methods
We grouped patients meeting DSM-IV criteria for pathological gambling into 3 categories of preferred forms of gambling: strategic (eg, cards, dice, sports betting, stock market), nonstrategic (eg, slots, video poker, pull tabs), or both. We then compared the groups’ clinical characteristics, gambling severity (using the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale Modified for Pathological Gambling, the Clinical Global ImpressionSeverity scale, and time and money spent gambling) and psychiatric comorbidity.
Results
The 440 patients included in this sample (54.1% females; mean age 47.69 ± 11.36 years) comprised the following groups: strategic (n = 56; 12.7%), nonstrategic (n = 200; 45.5%), or both (n = 184; 41.8%). Nonstrategic gamblers were significantly more likely to be older and female. Money spent gambling, frequency of gambling, gambling severity, and comorbid disorders did not differ significantly among groups.
Conclusions
These preliminary results suggest that preferred form of gambling may be associated with certain age groups and sexes but is not associated with any specific clinical differences.
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