Departament de Psicobiologia i Metodologia de les Ciències de la Salut, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
J Gambl Stud. 2014 Jun;30(2):475-92. doi: 10.1007/s10899-013-9369-6.
The age of a patient is a strong moderator of both the course and the evolution of disorders/diseases. However, the effects of current age in pathological gambling (PG) have rarely been examined. The aim of this study is to explore the moderating effects of the patients' current age in relation to personality traits and clinical outcomes of PG. A total sample of 2,309 treatment-seeking patients for PG, diagnosed according to DSM-IV criteria, participated in this study and were assessed with the Diagnostic Questionnaire for Pathological Gambling according to DSM-IV criteria, the South Oaks Gambling Screen, the Symptom Checklist, the Temperament and Character Inventory-R, and other clinical and psychopathological measures. Orthogonal polynomial contrasts showed linear trends in the relationship between age and PG: the older the patient, the more comorbid health problems were visible. The presence of additional quadratic trends also suggests that age plays a significant role in moderating the possibility of existing PG problems and general psychopathology. No interaction term was found between age and sex, but it was present for age and some personality traits: self-transcendence and reward dependence (these two traits were only relevant to the level of impairment due to PG at specific ages). This study suggests that the patients' age influences psychopathological and clinical aspects associated to PG. Intervention in the earliest manifestations of this complex problem is essential in order to better address the need of successful treatment planning.
患者的年龄是疾病发生和发展的重要调节因素。然而，病理性赌博（PG）中当前年龄的影响很少被研究。本研究旨在探讨患者当前年龄与人格特质和 PG 临床结局的关系中的调节作用。共有 2309 名符合 DSM-IV 标准的病理性赌博治疗患者参与了这项研究，他们接受了 DSM-IV 标准的病理性赌博诊断问卷、南方奥克斯赌博筛查量表、症状清单、气质和性格问卷-R 以及其他临床和心理病理测量。正交多项式对比显示，年龄与 PG 之间存在线性趋势：患者年龄越大，可见的共病健康问题越多。存在二次趋势也表明，年龄在调节现有 PG 问题和一般心理病理学的可能性方面起着重要作用。未发现年龄和性别之间存在交互项，但年龄与一些人格特质之间存在交互项：自我超越和奖励依赖（这两个特质仅与特定年龄因 PG 导致的损害程度有关）。本研究表明，患者的年龄会影响与 PG 相关的心理病理和临床方面。在这个复杂问题的早期表现中进行干预对于更好地满足成功治疗计划的需求至关重要。
