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Gambling Disorder in the DSM-5: Opportunities to Improve Diagnosis and Treatment Especially in Substance Use and Homeless Populations

  • Gambling (J Derevensky, Section Editor)
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Abstract

Purpose of review

This paper reviews recent research related to the revisions of the gambling disorder (GD) criteria, including the elimination of the illegal acts criterion and the lowered diagnostic threshold.

Recent findings

Studies suggest that the removal of the illegal acts criterion has little impact in terms of prevalence or loss of diagnostic status among gamblers, especially when considered in combination with the lowered diagnostic threshold. Overall, prevalence rates will increase modestly with the lowered threshold in community samples of gamblers. However, increases in GD prevalence rates may be more notable in settings that serve individuals at higher risk for gambling problems (e.g., substance abuse treatment clinics and homeless persons).

Summary

Changes to the GD diagnostic criteria may lead to increased recognition of gambling problems, particularly in settings that serve high-risk populations. These changes also may necessitate the training of more clinicians in the delivery of efficacious gambling treatments.

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Papers of particular interest, published recently, have been highlighted as: • Of importance

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. UConn Health Calhoun Cardiology Center—Behavioral Health, 263 Farmington Avenue (MC 3944), Farmington, CT, 06030, USA

    Carla J. Rash & Nancy M. Petry

Authors
  1. Carla J. Rash
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  2. Nancy M. Petry
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Carla J. Rash.

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Conflict of Interest

Carla J. Rash reports no conflicts of interest.

Nancy M. Petry has served as an expert witness in legal cases related to gambling and she wrote a review article for the National Gambling Trust. She also served on the Workgroup for Substance Use and Related Disorders for the DSM-5, for which she received no compensation.

Carla J. Rash and Nancy M. Petry report grants from National Institutes of Health R01-DA13444, P50-DA09241, P60-AA03510, R01- AA021446, R01-AA023502, R01-DA021567, and R21-DA031897.

The views and opinions expressed in this paper are those of the authors and should not be construed to represent the views of any sponsoring organizations, agencies, or governments.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

Additional information

This article is part of the Topical Collection on Gambling

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Cite this article

Rash, C.J., Petry, N.M. Gambling Disorder in the DSM-5: Opportunities to Improve Diagnosis and Treatment Especially in Substance Use and Homeless Populations. Curr Addict Rep 3, 249–253 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40429-016-0112-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40429-016-0112-0

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