EXPLORING THE EFFICACY OF COGNITIVE-BEHAVIOURAL THERAPY FOR TREATMENT OF PATHOLOGICAL GAMBLING

EXPLORING THE EFFICACY OF COGNITIVE-BEHAVIOURAL THERAPY FOR TREATMENT OF PATHOLOGICAL GAMBLING
Chon Cheng Vong, Macao Polytechnic University, Macao
(Presented at the International Conference on Life Sciences, Engineering and Technology (iLSET) which took place on April 13-16, 2023, Denver, CO, USA, www.2023.ilset... organized by International Society for Technology, Education and Science ((ISTES)-www.istes.org)
According to the DSM-IV criteria, pathological gambling is classified as a type of “addiction disorder”, associate with magnificent negative consequences to individual’s lives. Today, there is an increasing number of individuals diagnosed with pathological gambling. Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is one of the most effective treatments that reduce gambling frequency and severity by changing the negative distorted thoughts among problem gamblers. The aim of this study is to examine the effectiveness between cognitive behavioural therapy and treatment of pathological gambling among problem gamblers. A systematic review was carried out across four databases, using search terms “cognitive behavioral therapy”, “cbt”, “problem gambling”, “pathological gambling”, “disordered gambling” and “gambling addition”. A total of nine journal articles were selected in the process based on the specific inclusion and exclusion criteria. Cognitive behavioral therapy was found to have significant effect on improvements in gambling frequency and severity of gambling symptoms among problem gamblers. However, results demonstrated a low effect on improvements in the amount of money gambled among problem gamblers after receiving CBT. The use of randomization in most studies increase the overall validity of findings in the review. However, population groups in most studies were originated from Western cultures, which create the issue of cultural bias. Future research conducted on Chinese culture, with multimodal approach is necessary in order to deepen our understanding on effectiveness of CBT for treatment of pathological gambling in the long-term.