Assessments

While several of the VACPG fact sheets will be geared toward health professionals, below please find a list of commonly used standardized assessments for gambling disorder. Some of these have been validated with the DSM-5, but some are still only valid based on the DSM-IV.
Assessment: Biosocial Gambling Screen (BBGS)1
Description: A three-item screener for a current gambling disorder, not a lifetime problem.

Assessment: South Oaks Gambling Screen2,3
Description: A 20-item self-report questionnaire that screens for lifetime gambling.

Assessment: Gamblers Anonymous 20 Questions2,4
Description: A 20-item questionnaire that screens for current problem gambling, not a lifetime problem.

Assessment: Massachusetts Gambling Screen2,5
Description: A 14-item self-report measure that screens across the gambling disorder spectrum for both adolescents and adults.

Assessment: Lie/Bet Questionnaire6
Description: Two-item screening questionnaire for pathological gambling.
Assessment: Early Intervention Gambling Health Test2,7
Description: A screener for pathological gambling.

Assessment: Structured Clinical Interview for Pathological Gambling2,8
Description: Tool to use for a differential diagnosis between gambling disorder and a manic episode.

Assessment: Diagnostic Interview for Gambling Schedule2,9
Description: Structured interview that assesses different aspects of gambling disorder to get a better profile of the client.

Assessment: National Opinion Research Center DSM-IV Screen for Gambling Problems2,10
Description: A 17-item interview that screens for gambling disorder across the spectrum.

Assessment: NODS-CLiP11
Description: The NODS is a 17-item screener for gambling disorder, while the CLiP is a three-item questionnaire that identifies almost all pathological gamblers. Together, these tools have good sensitivity and specificity. 

Treatment Strategies

Below are some treatment strategies also commonly used to help those on the gambling disorder spectrum.
  • Traditional therapy12
  • Suggesting Gamblers Anonymous12
  • Medication, although pharmacological interventions specific to gambling disorder are lacking12,13
  • Suggesting proper self-help12
  • Cue Exposure Therapy14
  • Natural recovery15
  • Motivational interviewing16

References

  1. Gebauer Lm, LaBrie R, Shaffer HG. Optimizing DSM-IV-TR classification accuracy: A brief biosocial screen for detecting current gambling disorders among gamblers in the general household population
  2. Grant JE, Odlaug BL. Diagnosis and treatment of gambling disorder. Chapter 3. Pages 35-59. In Behavioral Addictions: Criteria, Evidence, and Treatment.
  3. Lesieur HR, Blume SB. The South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS): A new instrument for the identification of pathological gamblers. Am J Psychiat. 1987;144:1184–1188.
  4. Toneatto T. Reliability and validity of the Gamblers Anonymous Twenty Questions. J Psychopath Beh Assess.2008;30:71–78.
  5. Shaffer HJ, LaBrie R, Scanlan KM, Cummings TN. Pathological gambling among adolescents: Massachusetts gambling screen (MAGS). J Gambl Stud. 1994;10:339–362.
  6. Johnson EE, Hamer RM. The lie/bet questionnaire for screening pathological gamblers: A follow-up study. Psych Report. 1998;83:1219-1224.
  7. Sullivan S. Development of the “EIGHT” problem gambling screen. Unpublished doctoral thesis. Auckland, New Zealand: Auckland University (Philson Ref W4 S952–1999);1999.
  8. Grant JE, Steinberg MA, Kim SW, Rounsaville BJ, Potenza MN. Pre­liminary validity and reliability testing of a structured clinical interview for pathological gambling. Psychiat Res. 2004;128:79–88.
  9. Winters KC, Specker S, Stinchfield R. Measuring pathological gambling with the Diagnostic Interview for Gambling Severity (DIGS). In JJ Marotta, JA Cornelius, WR Eadington (Eds.), The downside: Problem and pathological gambling (pp. 143–148). Reno, NV: University of Nevada. (Reno);2002.
  10. National Opinion Research Center. Gambling Impact and Behavior Study: Report to the National Gambling Impact Study Commission. Chicago, IL: National Opinion Research Cen­ter at the University of Chicago;1999. Available at http://www.norc.uchicago.edu/new/g amb-fin.htm.
  11. Toce-Gerstein M, Gerstein DR, Volberg RA. The NODS-CLiP: A rapid screen for adult pathological and problem gambling. J Gambl Stud. 2009;25:541-555.
  12. National Center for Responsible Gambling. Gambling and Health in the Workplace. Available at XXX. 20XX.
  13. Raposo-Lima C, Castro L, Sousa N, Morgado P. SCRATCH THAT! Two case reports of scratch-card gambling disorder. Addic Beh. 2015;45:30-33.
  14. Park C-B, Park SM, Gwak AH, et al. The effect of repeated exposure to virtual gambling cues on the urge to gamble. Addic Beh. 2015;41:61-64.
  15. Slutske WS. Natural recovery and treatment-seeking in pathological gambling: Results of two U.S. national surveys. Am J Psychitry. 2006;163:297-302.
  16. Yakovenko I, Quigley L, Hemmelgarn BR, Hodgins DC, Ronksley P. The efficacy of motivational interviewing for disordered gambling: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Addic Beh. 2015;43:72-82.