Development and validation of the Gambling Follow-up Scale, Self-Report version: an outcome measure in the treatment of pathological gambling

Ana M Galetti, Hermano Tavares, Ana M Galetti, Hermano Tavares

Abstract

Objective:: To validate the Gambling Follow-up Scale, Self-Report version (GFS-SR), a 10-item scale designed to assess gambling frequency, time and money spent on gambling, gambling craving, debts, emotional distress, family relationships, autonomy, and frequency of and satisfaction with leisure activities in individuals diagnosed with gambling disorder according to the DSM-5 criteria.

Methods:: One hundred and twenty treatment-seeking gamblers were evaluated, 84 of whom proceeded to treatment. Fifty-two relatives provided collateral informant reports at baseline. Six months later, the 50 patients who completed the program were reassessed.

Results:: The GFS-SR showed good inter-rater agreement and internal consistency. Factor analysis presented a three-factor solution: gambling behavior (factor 1); social life (factor 2); and personal hardship (factor 3). There was a high degree of convergence between GFS-SR scores and those of reference scales. The GFS-SR scores showed excellent sensitivity to change (factor 1), predictive validity for treatment response (factor 2), and ability to distinguish recovered from unrecovered patients after treatment (factor 3). A cutoff score of 33 was found to have 87% sensitivity and 80% specificity for gambling recovery.

Conclusion:: The GFS-SR is well suited to providing reliable follow-up of gamblers under treatment and assessing the efficacy of their treatment.

Conflict of interest statement

HT has worked as the chief gambling consultant for the Brazilian federal bank (Caixa Econômica Federal) since March 2015, overseeing its national lottery products, and as a member of the Independent Assessment Panel for the responsible gambling certification of the World Lottery Association from October 2015 to February 2016. The other author reports no conflicts of interest.

References

    1. Nowak DE, Aloe AM. The prevalence of pathological gambling among college students: a meta-analytic synthesis, 2005-2013. J Gambl Stud. 2014;30:819–43.
    1. Kushnir V, Cunningham JA, Hodgins DC. A prospective natural history study of quitting or reducing gambling with or without treatment: protocol. JMIR Res Protoc. 2013;2:e51.
    1. Walker M, Toneatto T, Potenza MN, Petry N, Ladouceur R, Hodgins DC, et al. A framework for reporting outcomes in problem gambling treatment research: the Banff, Alberta Consensus. Addiction. 2006;101:504–11.
    1. Grant JE, Odlaug BL, Schreiber LR. Pharmacological treatments in pathological gambling. Br J Clin Pharmacol. 2014;77:375–81.
    1. Cowlishaw S, Merkouris S, Dowling N, Anderson C, Jackson A, Thomas S. Psychological therapies for pathological and problem gambling. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2012;11:CD008937.
    1. Hodgins DC, Currie S, el-Guebaly N, Peden N. Brief motivational treatment for problem gambling: a 24-month follow-up. Psychol Addict Behav. 2004;18:293–6.
    1. Ladouceur R, Sylvain C, Boutin C, Lachance S, Doucet C, Leblond J. Group therapy for pathological gamblers: a cognitive approach. Behav Res Ther. 2003;41:587–96.
    1. Melville CL, Davis CS, Matzenbacher DL, Clayborne J. Node-link-mapping-enhanced group treatment for pathological gambling. Addict Behav. 2004;29:73–87.
    1. Petry NM, Weinstock J, Ledgerwood DM, Morasco B. A randomized trial of brief interventions for problem and pathological gamblers. J Consult Clin Psychol. 2008;76:318–28.
    1. Lesieur HR, Blume SB. The South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS): a new instrument for the identification of pathological gamblers. Am J Psychiatry. 1987;144:1184–8.
    1. Stinchfield R. Reliability, validity, and classification accuracy of the South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS). Addict Behav. 2002;27:1–19.
    1. Hodgins DC. Using the NORC DSM Screen for Gambling Problems as an outcome measure for pathological gambling: psychometric evaluation. Addict Behav. 2004;29:1685–90.
    1. Kim SW, Grant JE, Potenza MN, Blanco C, Hollander E. The Gambling Symptom Assessment Scale (G-SAS): a reliability and validity study. Psychiatry Res. 2009;166:76–84.
    1. American Psychiatric Association . Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR). Arlington: American Psychiatric Publishing; 2000.
    1. American Psychiatric Association . Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5). Arlington: American Psychiatric Publishing; 2013.
    1. Romanczuk-Seiferth N, van den Brink W, Goudriaan AE. From symptoms to neurobiology: pathological gambling in the light of the new classification in DSM-5. Neuropsychobiology. 2014;70:95–102.
    1. McLellan AT, Kushner H, Metzger D, Peters R, Smith I, Grissom G, et al. The fifth edition of the Addiction Severity Index. J Subst Abuse Treat. 1992;9:199–213.
    1. Petry NM. Validity of a gambling scale for the addiction severity index. J Nerv Ment Dis. 2003;191:399–407.
    1. Petry NM. Concurrent and predictive validity of the Addiction Severity Index in pathological gamblers. Am J Addict. 2007;16:272–82.
    1. Sobell LC, Sobell MB. Timeline follow-back: a technique for assessing self-report alcohol consumption. In: Litten R, Allen J, editors. Measuring alcohol consumption: psychosocial and biochemical methods. Totowa: Humana Press; 1992. pp. 41–72.
    1. Hodgins DC, Makarchuk K. Trusting problem gamblers: reliability and validity of self-reported gambling behavior. Psychol Addict Behav. 2003;17:244–8.
    1. Weinstock J, Whelan JP, Meyers AW. Behavioral assessment of gambling: an application of the timeline follow-back method. Psychol Assess. 2004;16:72–80.
    1. de Castro V, Fuentes D, Tavares H. The gambling follow-up scale: development and reliability testing of a scale for pathological gamblers under treatment. Can J Psychiatry. 2005;50:81–6.
    1. World Medical Association World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki: ethical principles for medical research involving human subjects. J Postgrad Med. 2002;48:206–8.
    1. Landis JR, Koch GG. The measurement of observer agreement for categorical data. Biometrics. 1977;33:159–174.
    1. Weissman MM, Bothwell S. Assessment of social adjustment by patient self-report. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1976;33:1111–5.
    1. Gorenstein C, Moreno RA, Bernik MA, Carvalho SC, Nicastri S, Cordás T, et al. Validation of the Portuguese version of the Social Adjustment Scale on Brazilian samples. J Affect Disord. 2002;69:167–75.
    1. Flaherty JA, Gaviria FM, Pathak D, Mithell T, Wintrob R, Richman JA, et al. Developing instruments for cross-cultural psychiatric research. J Nerv Ment Dis. 1988;176:257–63.
    1. Tavares H, Gentil V, Oliveira CS, Tavares AG. Jogadores patológicos, uma revisão: psicopatologia, quadro clínico e tratamento. Rev Psiquiatr Clin. 1999;26:179–87.
    1. Ladouceur R, Sylvain C, Boutin C, Lachance S, Doucet C, Leblond J, et al. Cognitive treatment of pathological gambling. J Nerv Ment Dis. 2001;189:774–80.
    1. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Statistical package for social sciences. Version 10.0 for Windows. Chicago: SPSS Inc; 1997.
    1. Lee BK, Awosoga O. Congruence couple therapy for pathological gambling: a pilot randomized controlled trial. J Gambl Stud. 2015;31:1047–68.
    1. Grayson SN. Role of outcome measurement in psychiatry. In: IsHak WW, Burt T, Sederer LI, editors. Outcome measurement in psychiatry: a critical review. New York: American Psychiatric Publishing; 2002. pp. 3–13.
    1. Melville KM, Casey LM, Kavanagh DJ. Psychological treatment dropout among pathological gamblers. Clin Psychol Rev. 2007;27:944–58.
    1. Oei TP, Gordon LM. Psychosocial factors related to gambling abstinence and relapse in members of gamblers anonymous. J Gambl Stud. 2008;24:91–105.
    1. Sander W, Peters A. Pathological gambling: influence of quality of life and psychological distress on abstinence after cognitive-behavioral inpatient treatment. J Gambl Stud. 2009;25:253–62.
    1. Petry NM, Ammerman Y, Bohl J, Doersch A, Gay H, Kadden R, et al. Cognitive-behavioral therapy for pathological gamblers. J Consult Clin Psychol. 2006;74:555–67.
    1. Magalhães AC, Jungerman FS, Silva MC, Moraes MM, Tavares H. Post-therapy group for pathological gamblers: improvement beyond symptoms. Rev Bras Psiquiatr. 2009;31:181–2.
    1. Angelo DL, Tavares H, Zilberman ML. Evaluation of a physical activity program for pathological gamblers in treatment. J Gambl Stud. 2013;29:589–99.
    1. Tavares H. Gambling in Brazil: a call for an open debate. Addiction. 2014;109:1972–6.

Source: PubMed

Sponsorer och medarbetare

Medicinska tillstånd

Läkemedelsinterventioner

3
Prenumerera