Epidemiología del juego patológico en un programa de tratamiento profesional

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to observe the sociodemographic andpsychological features in a sample of pathological gamblers in a professional treatment programme. All patients sought treatment in the Pathological Gambling Unit of the Department of Psychiatry at Ciutat Sanitaria i Universitària de Bellvitge, Barcelona (Spain). The sample was composed of 172 subjects diagnosed according to DSM-IV criteria (APA, 1994) for pathological gambling. A questionaire dealing with biographical and socioTfamily matters (González Ibáñez, 1994) was handed out to them. This questionnaire contained inforrnation about biography, family, relationship with spouse/partner, social relationships, occupation, hobbies, illnesses and aspects of gambling. The evaluation of the subjects was perforrned in the Pathological Garnbling Unit. The results revealed the following profile: Male, with un average age of 40.43 years, married, with primary education, skilled manual worker, ernployed, without a family history of psychiatric illness and without psychiatric comorbidity, with current debts or debts in the past and in the main slot machine gamblers. Other findings are also presented and discussed.