Cognitive treatment of pathological gambling

This study evaluated the efficacy of a cognitive treatment package for path ological gambling. Sixty-six gamblers, meeting DSM-IV criteria for patholog ical gambling, were randomly assigned to treatment or wait-list control con ditions. Cognitive correction techniques were used first to target gamblers ' erroneous perceptions about randomness and then to address issues of rela pse prevention. The dependent measures used were the South Oaks Gambling Sc reen, the number of DSM-IV criteria for pathological gambling met by partic ipants, as well as gamblers' perception of control, frequency of gambling, perceived self-efficacy, and desire to gamble. Posttest results indicated h ighly significant changes in the treatment group on all outcome measures, a nd analysis of data from 6- and 12-month follow-ups revealed maintenance of therapeutic gains. Recommendations for clinical interventions are discusse d, focusing on the cognitive correction of erroneous perceptions toward the notion of randomness.