Elsevier

Clinical Psychology Review

Volume 30, Issue 8, December 2010, Pages 988-998
Clinical Psychology Review

The subtyping of pathological gambling: A comprehensive review

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2010.06.013Get rights and content

Abstract

Pathological gamblers (PGs) present with various forms of psychopathology, maladaptive personality traits, and gambling motivations. Some suggest that this variability supports classification of PGs into distinct subtypes. Subtyping models are thought to have implications for understanding pathological gambling (PG) etiology and treatment outcomes. This review evaluates the existing literature on the subtyping of PGs based on psychopathology, personality, and/or motivation for gambling. We conclude that three PG subtypes consistently emerge from the empirical literature, and should be the focus of future study. These subtypes closely parallel the three types of gamblers presented in Blaszczynski and Nower's (2002) conceptual pathways model. We suggest that future investigations on PG subtypes build upon the theoretical framework of the pathways model, but also address the limitations of prior studies.

Research highlights

►Pathological gamblers (PGs) have heterogeneous presentations ►Variability may support classification of PGs into distinct subtypes ►A literature review reveals three PG subtypes consistently emerge ►These subtypes parallel the three types of gamblers in the Pathways Model

Section snippets

Overview

Pathological gambling (PG) is characterized by a failure to resist the impulse to gamble despite serious personal and social consequences (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). It is a disorder typified by various comorbid psychiatric conditions and underlying maladaptive personality traits. For example, pathological gamblers (PGs) exhibit elevated rates of current and lifetime substance use (el-Guebaly et al., 2006, Petry et al., 2005), mood (Kim et al., 2006, Potenza et al., 2005), anxiety

Literature review

A comprehensive literature search was conducted on the PsychINFO and MedLine databases for the period of 1900 to 2009. Key search terms were: type, subtype, subtyping, group, and pathway each in combination with the key words gambler, gamblers, or gambling. These key search terms were employed as they are the most consistently used terms in articles presenting PG subtyping schemes with which the current authors are familiar. Abstracts produced from the database search were reviewed to determine

Three pathological gambling subtypes

A review of the literature on PG subtyping demonstrates valid subtypes likely exist. While differences were found between studies in the operationalization and measurement of psychopathology and personality, the statistical methods employed to classify gamblers, and the gambling subtyping schemes that were produced, it appears that three relatively distinct subtypes of PGs consistently emerge (see Table 2). These subtypes are differentiated based on their motivations for gambling as well as

Future directions and implications

Blaszczynski and Nower (2002) present a comprehensive theoretical model of PG subtypes that appears to capture the distinct types of gamblers consistently reported by most investigators (as presented in the current review). While evidence is beginning to emerge that validates aspects of the pathways model (e.g., Ledgerwood & Petry, 2006, Stewart et al., 2008, Turner et al., 2008, Vachon & Bagby, 2009), no empirical work has directly validated the complete model, taking into full account the

Role of funding source

Joe Young Sr. funding through the State of Michigan (David M. Ledgerwood). The funding source played no direct role in the creation of this manuscript.

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