Department of Addiction and Dependency, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Journalvägen 5, 416 50, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Addiction Biology Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, Institution of Neuroscience and Physiology, The Sahlgrenska Academy at University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
J Gambl Stud. 2023 Sep;39(3):1129-1153. doi: 10.1007/s10899-022-10183-x. Epub 2023 Jan 7.
Gambling disorder (GD) is classified among the addictive disorders in the DSM-5 and the severity of the diagnosis can be specified as mild, moderate and severe. It has been seen that individuals with more severe gambling problems have a higher rate of comorbid disorders and other health problems compared to individuals with a milder clinical picture.
The aim of this study was to explore clinical psychiatric differences related to the severity of disorder in treatment-seeking patients with GD.
A sample of 163 patients with GD seeking treatment at an outpatient clinic was diagnosed using the SCI-GD, screened for comorbid diagnoses using the MINI, and further completed a range of self-report questionnaires measuring alcohol-, and drug-problems, symptoms of depression and anxiety, emotion regulation, cognitive distortions, and quality of life.
Greater severity was associated to more problems with alcohol and illicit drugs. Severe gamblers were more likely to gamble to "escape", and had more symptoms of depression and anxiety. Participants with moderate and severe gambling disorder had more difficulties with emotion regulation. Cognitive distortions were the same between severities. All groups had Quality-of-Life problems at a clinical level.
There are some distinctive differences between GD of different severities. The features shown by patients with severe GD indicates a more emotionally vulnerable group with increased symptom severity. Further knowledge about the features of GD severity levels is important for treatment planning in the clinic.
赌博障碍（GD）被归类为 DSM-5 中的成瘾障碍，其严重程度可分为轻度、中度和重度。已经发现，与轻度临床症状的个体相比，患有更严重赌博问题的个体有更高的共病障碍和其他健康问题的发生率。
本研究旨在探讨与寻求治疗的 GD 患者障碍严重程度相关的临床精神差异。
在一个门诊诊所，使用 SCI-GD 对 163 名寻求治疗的 GD 患者进行诊断，使用 MINI 对共病诊断进行筛查，并进一步完成一系列自我报告问卷，以衡量酒精和药物问题、抑郁和焦虑症状、情绪调节、认知扭曲和生活质量。
严重程度与更多的酒精和非法药物问题相关。重度赌徒更有可能通过赌博“逃避”，并且有更多的抑郁和焦虑症状。中度和重度赌博障碍患者在情绪调节方面更困难。认知扭曲在严重程度之间相同。所有组在生活质量方面都存在临床水平的问题。
不同严重程度的 GD 之间存在一些明显的差异。重度 GD 患者表现出的特征表明，他们是一个情绪更脆弱、症状更严重的群体。进一步了解 GD 严重程度水平的特征对于临床治疗计划很重要。
