Community treatment for problem gambling: sex differences in outcome and process.

This study compared sex differences in related treatment outcomes and processes in a community sample of outpatient problem gambling treatment-seekers. Participants attended approximately seven sessions of cognitive-behavioral treatment. Women were more likely to have a history of psychiatric comorbidity, prefer non-strategic/non-skill forms of gambling, and have a more rapid progression towards a gambling problem than did men. At the 6-month post-treatment follow-up, men were found to have improved to a significantly greater degree on measures of gambling severity and rates of abstinence in comparison to women. Moreover, men rated treatment components to be more helpful, whereas women found specific gambling-related treatment interventions (e.g., identification of high-risk situations, gambling beliefs and attitudes) to be less helpful. Implications for identifying treatment needs of women seeking problem gambling treatment are discussed.