Development and Validation of a Mindfulness Intervention for Problem Gambling: An Exploratory Study

January 14, 2008 updated by: Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
In recent years, mindfulness meditation has been shown to be a promising approach for alleviating emotional distress associated with chronic medical and psychiatric conditions and in reducing relapse following treatment for depression. The applicability of mindfulness meditation to problem gambling has not yet been explored. Mindfulness meditation may be particularly suitable for this clinical disorder as it stresses a process-oriented, metacognitive, approach to cognitive pathology in contrast to a content-focused approach, characteristic of traditional approaches to treating cognitive psychopathology. Gambling-related cognitive psychopathology is a well-known characteristic of problem gambling and frequently the target of therapy. Although there is growing evidence that cognitive-behavioral treatments are effective for gambling, outcomes may be improved by teaching gamblers additional ways to cope with cognitive distortions that emphasize metacognitive processes.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Hypothesis The mindfulness-enhanced CBT (MCBT) will report significant reductions in the frequency of gambling, gambling urges, gambling cognitions and gambling-related expenditures compared to the relaxation-enhanced CBT (RCBT) at end-of-treatment and at the 3-month follow-up.

Significance

  1. feasibility of mindfulness interventions for problem gamblers
  2. tentative data for the effectiveness of the intervention
  3. an additional clinical tool to treat problem gamblers
  4. basis of a larger, grant-funded study obtain more definitive data

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Anticipated)

24

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Canada
    • Ontario
      • Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5S 2S1
        • Centre for Addiction and Mental Health

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • current diagnosis of pathological gambling
  • willingness to practice mindfulness or relaxation

Exclusion Criteria:

  • substance abuse/dependence (except nicotine)
  • concurrent attendance at any treatment in which their gambling is addressed (including Gamblers Anonymous)

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: 1
Behavioral: Mindfulness-enhanced cognitive behavioural therapy (MCBT)
a variation of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)
Active Comparator: 2
Behavioral: relaxation-enhanced cognitive behavioural therapy (RCBT)
a variation of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Gambling urges
Time Frame: Baseline, post and 3 month fup
Baseline, post and 3 month fup
Gambling-related expenditures
Time Frame: Baseline, post and 3 month fup
Baseline, post and 3 month fup

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
treatment adherence
Time Frame: Baseline, post and 3 month fup
Baseline, post and 3 month fup
gambling cognitions
Time Frame: Baseline, post and 3 month fup
Baseline, post and 3 month fup

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Centre for Addiction and Mental Health

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

February 1, 2007

Primary Completion (Actual)

November 1, 2007

Study Completion (Actual)

November 1, 2007

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

June 29, 2007

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 29, 2007

First Posted (Estimate)

July 3, 2007

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

January 16, 2008

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 14, 2008

Last Verified

January 1, 2008

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 311/2006

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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