Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Drug, and Child's Health, Section of Psychology, University of Florence, 50135 Florence, Italy.
National Health Drugs Service (Servizio Dipendenze Patologiche, Ser.DP) of Piacenza, Azienda Unità Sanitaria Locale AUSL Piacenza, 29121 Piacenza, Italy.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Jan 7;18(2):424. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18020424.
The COVID-19 pandemic, with the consequent lockdown of about 3 months, can be viewed as an experimental model to observe the impact of the depletion of environmental factors that stimulate gambling, particularly electronic gambling machines (EGMs) that were set to zero. The effects of some structural characteristics of gambling activities that increase gambling behavior were studied among disordered gamblers in treatment in this unique scenario. In fact, studies investigating the effects of the lockdown on problem gamblers (PGs) under treatment are missing. The aims of this study were to analyze patients' gambling behavior and craving during the lockdown and to conduct a comparison between gambling disorder (GD) symptoms at the beginning of the treatment and during lockdown. The study was conducted in Italy, the European country with the largest gambling market and the first to be affected by the virus. Data were collected through a semi-structured telephone interview conducted by healthcare professionals. Participants were 135 PGs under treatment (109 males, mean age = 50.07). Results showed that most PGs achieved a significant improvement in their quality of life, with less gambling behavior, GD symptoms, and lower craving. No shift toward online gambling and very limited shift towards other potential addictive and excessive behaviors occurred. The longer the treatment, the more monitoring is present and the better the results in terms of symptoms reduction. Individual and environmental characteristics during the lockdown favored the reduction in symptoms. Consideration for prevention and treatment are discussed.
新型冠状病毒肺炎疫情导致大约 3 个月的封锁，可以被视为一个观察刺激赌博的环境因素（尤其是被设为零的电子赌博机）耗竭影响的实验模型。在这种独特的情况下，对接受治疗的障碍性赌徒进行了一些增加赌博行为的赌博活动结构特征的研究。事实上，关于封锁对接受治疗的问题赌徒（PGs）影响的研究是缺失的。本研究旨在分析封锁期间患者的赌博行为和赌瘾，并对治疗开始时和封锁期间的赌博障碍（GD）症状进行比较。该研究在意大利进行，意大利是欧洲最大的赌博市场国家，也是首个受病毒影响的国家。数据通过由医疗保健专业人员进行的半结构化电话访谈收集。参与者为 135 名接受治疗的 PGs（109 名男性，平均年龄=50.07）。结果表明，大多数 PGs的生活质量显著改善，赌博行为、GD 症状和赌瘾降低。没有出现转向在线赌博的情况，其他潜在的成瘾和过度行为的转变也非常有限。治疗时间越长，监测就越到位，症状减轻的效果就越好。封锁期间的个体和环境特征有利于减轻症状。讨论了预防和治疗的考虑。
