Are there clinical, psychopathological and therapy outcomes correlates associated with self-exclusion from gambling?

Background and aims: Self-exclusion in gambling disorder (GD) is considered a measure to decrease the negative consequences of gambling behavior. Under a formal self-exclusion program, gamblers request to be banned from accessing to the gambling venues or online gambling. The aims of the present study are: 1) to determine sociodemographic characteristics of a clinical sample of seeking-treatment patients with GD who are self-excluded before arriving at the care unit; 2) to identify personality traits and general psychopathology of this clinical population; 3) to analyze the response to treatment, in terms of relapses and dropouts. Methods: 1,416 adults seeking treatment for GD, who are self-excluded completed screening tools to identify GD symptomatology, general psychopathology, and personality traits. The treatment outcome was measured by dropout and relapses. Results: Self-exclusion was significantly related to female sex and a high sociodemographic status. Also, it was associated with a preference for strategic and mixed gambling, longest duration and severity of the disorder, high rates of general psychopathology, more presence of illegal acts and high sensation seeking rates. In relation to treatment, self-exclusion was associated with low relapse rates. Conclusions: The patients who self-exclude before seeking treatment have a specific clinical profile, including high sociodemographic status, highest severity of GD, more years of evolution of the disorder and high emotional distress rates; however, these patients' presents better response to treatment. Clinically, it could be expected that this strategy could be used as a facilitating variable in the therapeutic process.

Motherhood and Treatment Outcome in Female Patients with Compulsive Buying-Shopping Disorder.

Motherhood has been proposed as an internal facilitating factor for the recovery of women with mental disorders. However, at the same time, there are significant barriers that may be interfering with the access and adherence to treatment for these women. The present longitudinal study aimed to deepen the sociodemographic and clinical profile of women with children and compulsive buying-shopping disorder (CBSD), and to explore the association between motherhood and response to treatment. The total sample included 77 women with a diagnosis of CBSD (n = 49 mothers) who received cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for 12 weeks. No association between psychopathology and motherhood was observed. The group of mothers reported an older age of onset of the CBSD, a lower amount of money spent per compulsive-buying episode, and a higher likelihood of family support for the CBSD. Moreover, this group showed lower risk of relapse. The findings support the theoretical proposal that considers motherhood as an internal facilitating factor for recovery and treatment adherence of mothers with addictions.