Funded Research

“Youth Gambling: Transition from Adolescence to Young Adulthood”

Principal Investigator: Ken C. Winters, Ph.D., University of Minnesota
Awarded $56,410 in 1997

Aim: Investigate youth gamblers over an eight-year period.

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Derevensky, J. L., Gupta, R., & Winters, K. (2003). Prevalence rates of youth gambling problems: Are the current rates inflated? Journal of Gambling Studies, 19(4), 405–425. http://doi.org/10.1023/A:1026379910094

Winters, K. C., & Anderson, N. (2000). Gambling involvement and drug use among adolescents. Journal of Gambling Studies, 16(2-3), 175–198.

Winters, K.C., Stinchfield, R.D., Botzet, A., & Slutske, W. (2005). Pathways of youth gambling problem severity. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 19, 104-107.

Winters, K.C., Stinchfield, R.D., Botzet, A. & Anderson, N. (2002). A prospective study of youth gambling behaviors. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 16, 3-9.

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“Relation of Cognitive Status to Brain Blood Flow and Dopamine Receptors in Pathological Gamblers”

Principal Investigator: Peter F. Goyer, MD, VA Medical Center-Cleveland
Awarded $138,000 in 1997

Aim: Test hypotheses that disordered gamblers, compared to controls, will perform more poorly on tests of attention and executive function, will have significantly reduced rCBF in frontal cortex and reduced dopamine D2 receptor function, and will be more likely to be carriers of the D2A1 allele for the dopamine D2 receptor gene.

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“Psychosocial and Behavioral Factors Associated with Problem Gambling by Youth”

Principal Investigator: Randy Stinchfield, Ph.D., Minnesota Institute on Public Health
Awarded $57,339 in 1997

Aim: Investigate the rate of gambling and gambling problems among Minnesota public school students.

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Jimenez-Murcia, S., Alvarez-Moya, E., Stinchfield, R., Fernandez-Aranda, F., Granero, R., Aymami, M.N., Gomez-Pena, M., Jaurrieta, N., Bove, F., & Menchon, J.M. (2010). Age of onset in pathological gambling: Clinical, therapeutic and personality correlates. Journal of Gambling Studies, 26, 235-248.

Stinchfield, R. (2000). Gambling and correlates of gambling among Minnesota public school students. Journal of Gambling Studies, 16, 153-173

Stinchfield, R. (2000). Youth gambling prevalence studies. Proceedings of the Interprovincial Think Tank on Youth and Gambling, October 21-22, 1999, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada (pp.15-40). Edmonton, Alberta:  Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission.

Stinchfield, R. (2001). A comparison of gambling by Minnesota public school students in 1992, 1995, and 1998. Journal of Gambling Studies, 17, 273-296.

Stinchfield, R. (2002). Youth gambling: How big a problem? Psychiatric Annals, 32, 197-202.

Stinchfield, R. (2004). Demographic, psychosocial, and behavioral factors associated with youth gambling and problem gambling. In J. Derevensky & R. Gupta (Eds.), Gambling problems in youth: Theoretical and applied perspectives (pp. 27-39). New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers.

Stinchfield, R. (2011). Gambling among Minnesota public school students from 1992 to 2007: Declines in youth gambling. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 25(1), 108-117.

Stinchfield, R., Cassuto, N., Winters, K., & Latimer, W. (2002). Prevalence of gambling among Minnesota Public School Students in 1992 and 1995. In J. J. Marotta, J. A. Cornelius, and W. R. Eadington (Eds.), The Downside: Problem and Pathological Gambling (pp. 287-308). Reno, NV: University of Nevada, Reno.

Stinchfield, R.D., Kushner, M., & Winters, K.C. (2005). Alcohol abuse and pathological gambling:  Impact on treatment outcome. Journal of Gambling Studies, 21(3), 273-297.

Stinchfield, R. & Winters, K.C. (1998). Gambling and problem gambling among youth. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 556, 172-185.

Stinchfield, R. & Winters, K. C. (2004). Epidemiology of adolescent and young adult gambling. In J. E. Grant & M. N. Potenza (Eds.), Pathological gambling: A Clinical Guide to Treatment, Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc.

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“The Molecular Genetics of Pathological Gambling”

Principal Investigator: David E. Comings, MD, The City of Hope National Medical Center
Awarded $159,900 in 1997

Aim: Investigate association between pathological gambling and multiple dopamine receptor genes thus lending support for the idea that people with gambling disorders have a deficient reward center that predisposes them to developing a gambling disorder.

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Blum, K., Braverman, E. R., Holder, J. M., Lubar, J. F., Monastra, V. J., Miller, D., Lubar, J. O., Chen, T. J., & Comings, D. E. (2000). The reward deficiency syndrome: A biogenetic model for the diagnosis and treatment of impulsive, addictive, and compulsive behaviors. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 32(Suppl), i–iv, 1–112.

Comings, D.E. (1998). The molecular genetics of pathological gambling. CNS Spectrums, 3, 20-37.

Comings, D.E. (1999). Molecular heterosis as the explanation for the controversy about the effect of the DRD2 gene on dopamine D2 receptor density. Molecular Psychiatry, 4, 213-215.

Comings, D.E. (1999). SNPs and polygenic disorders: A less gloomy view. Molecular Psychiatry, 4, 314-316.

Comings, D.E. (2000). The molecular genetics of ADHD and conduct disorder: Relevance to the treatment of recidivistic antisocial behavior. In D. Fishbein (Ed.), Prevention of Antisocial Behavior. New York: Civic Research.

Comings, D.E. & Blum, K. (2000). Reward deficiency syndrome: Genetic aspects of behavioral disorders. In Uylings, et al. (Eds.), Cognition, Emotion and Autonomic Responses. Amsterdam:  Elsiver.

Comings, D.E., Chen, C., Wu, S. & Muhleman, D. (1999). Association of the androgen receptor gene (AR) with ADHD, and conduct disorder. Neuroreport, 10, 1589-1592.

Comings, D.E., Dietz, G., Johnson, J. P., & MacMurray, J. P. (1999). Association of Enkephalinase gene with low amplitude P300 waves. Neuroreport, 10, 2283-2285.

Comings, D.E., Gade-Andavolu, R., Gonzalez, N. Wu, S., Nuhleman, D., Chen, C., et al. (2002). The additive effect of neurotransmitter genes in pathological gambling. Clinical Genetics, 60, 107-116.

Comings, D. E., Gonzalez, N., Wu, S., Gade, R., Muhleman, D., Saucier, G., et al. (1999). Studies of the 48 bp repeat polymorphism of the DRD4 gene in impulsive, compulsive, addictive behaviors: Tourette syndrome, ADHD, pathological gambling, and substance abuse. American Journal of Medical Genetics Neuropsychiatric Genetics, 88, 358-368.

Wu, S. & Comings, D.E. (1999). A common C-1018G polymorphism in the human 5-HT1A receptor gene. Psychiatric Genetics, 9, 105-106.

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“Critical Dimensions of Relapse in Pathological Gambling”

Principal Investigator: David C. Hodgins, Ph.D., University of Calgary
Awarded $106,638 in 1997

Aim: Understand factors leading to a high relapse rate among a sample of disordered gamblers who had recently quit gambling.

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Hodgins, D.C. (2001). Processes of changing gambling behavior. Addictive Behaviors, 26, 121-128.

Hodgins, D. C., Currie, S. R., & el-Guebaly, N. (2001). Motivational enhancement and self-help treatments for problem gambling. Journal of Consulting & Clinical Psychology, 69, 50-57.

Hodgins, D. C. & el-Guebaly, N. (2004). Retrospective and prospective reports of precipitants to relapse in pathological gambling. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 72, 72-80.

Hodgins, D.C., Makarchuk, K., el-Guebaly, N. & Peden, N. (2002). Why problem gamblers quit gambling: A comparison of methods and samples. Addiction Research and Therapy, 10, 203-218.

Hodgins, D. C., Peden, N., & Cassidy, E. (2005). The association between comorbidity and outcome in pathological gambling: A prospective follow-up of recent quitters. Journal of Gambling Studies,21(3), 255-71.

Holub, A., Hodgins, D. C., & Peden, N. E. (2005). Development of the temptations for gambling questionnaire: A measure of temptation in recently quit gamblers. Addiction Research & Theory, 13(2), 179–191. http://doi.org/10.1080/16066350412331314902

Thygesen, K. L., & Hodgins, D. C. (2003). Quitting again: Motivations and strategies for terminating gambling relapses. Journal of Gambling Issues, 9. http://doi.org/10.4309/jgi.2003.9.11

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“Cognitive Treatment of Pathological Gambling Among Adults and Adolescents”

Principal Investigator: Robert Ladouceur, Ph.D., Universitié Laval
Awarded $140,499 in 1997

Aim: Test the efficacy of cognitive therapy—correcting the gambler’s erroneous assumptions about probability and statistics—as a treatment for pathological gamblers.

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Ladouceur, R., & Shaffer, H.J. (2005). Treating problem gamblers: Working towards empirically supported treatment. Journal of Gambling Studies, 21(1), 1-4.

Ladouceur, R., Sylvain, C., Boutin, C., & Doucet, C. (2002). Understanding and treating pathological gamblers. London: Wiley.

Ladouceur, R., Sylvain, C., Boutin, C., Lachance, S., Doucet, C., Leblond, J., et al. (2001). Cognitive treatment of pathological gambling. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 189, 774-780.

Ladouceur, R., & Walker, M. (1998). The cognitive approach to understanding and treating pathological gambling. In A.S. Bellack & M. Hersen (Eds.), Comprehensive Clinical Psychology, (pp. 588-601). New York: Pergamon.

Sylvain, C., Ladouceur, R., & Boisvert, J. M. (1997). Cognitive and behavioral treatment of pathological gambling: A controlled study. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 65(5), 727–732.

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“Cognitive Biases in Problem Gambling”

Principal Investigator: Nigel E. Turner, Ph.D., Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto
Awarded $33,748 in 1997

Aim: Understand how erroneous thoughts about the odds of winning contribute to the development of a gambling disorder.

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Turner, N. E., Liu, E., & Toneatto, T. (2009). What does a random line look like: An experimental study. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 9, 60–71. http://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-009-9251-z

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