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Gambling disorder and problematic pornography use : Does co-occurrence influence treatment outcome?

Mestre-Bach, Gemma ; Potenza, Marc N. ; Granero, Roser ; Håkansson, Anders LU orcid ; Gómez-Peña, Mónica ; Perales, Iván ; Vicó, Àngela ; Uríszar, Juan Carlos ; Fernández-Aranda, Fernando and Sánchez, Isabel , et al. (2025) In Journal of Behavioral Addictions 14(1). p.465-479
Abstract

Background and aims: Gambling disorder (GD) is a behavioral addiction often co-occurring with various mental health concerns, such as problematic pornography use (PPU). The specific impact of the co-occurrence of GD and PPU on treatment outcome remains underexplored. This study aimed to compare the treatment outcomes of individuals actively receiving treatment for GD (n = 172; 3.49% females), distinguishing between those without PPU (n = 146) and those with co-occurring GD and PPU (n = 26). Methods: Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) was administered in 16 weekly sessions, with assessments of GD severity, impulsivity, emotion regulation, psychopathology, and personality. Dropout, relapses, number of sessions attended, number of... (More)

Background and aims: Gambling disorder (GD) is a behavioral addiction often co-occurring with various mental health concerns, such as problematic pornography use (PPU). The specific impact of the co-occurrence of GD and PPU on treatment outcome remains underexplored. This study aimed to compare the treatment outcomes of individuals actively receiving treatment for GD (n = 172; 3.49% females), distinguishing between those without PPU (n = 146) and those with co-occurring GD and PPU (n = 26). Methods: Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) was administered in 16 weekly sessions, with assessments of GD severity, impulsivity, emotion regulation, psychopathology, and personality. Dropout, relapses, number of sessions attended, number of relapses, and amount of money spent during relapses were assessed as the main treatment outcomes. Results: Patients with co-occurring GD and PPU showed greater GD severity, psychopathology, impulsivity, and difficulties in emotional regulation compared to those with GD and without PPU. Moreover, the presence of PPU appeared to be mainly associated with higher likelihood of treatment dropout, and, consequently, fewer CBT sessions attended. Discussion and Conclusions: It is important to evaluate GD/PPU co-occurrence and strengthen the CBT approach for GD patients with PPU by using supplementary strategies to improve treatment adherence.

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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
addictive behaviors, compulsive behaviors, dropout, gambling disorder, impulsive behaviors, problematic pornography use, recovery, relapse, treatment outcome
in
Journal of Behavioral Addictions
volume
14
issue
1
pages
15 pages
publisher
Akademiai Kiado
external identifiers
  • scopus:105001690939
  • pmid:40116860
ISSN
2062-5871
DOI
10.1556/2006.2025.00023
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
Publisher Copyright: © 2025 The Author(s).
id
f2d5f4ac-8722-4364-b3c7-b8a192af141a
date added to LUP
2025-08-22 14:44:39
date last changed
2025-08-23 03:00:03
@article{f2d5f4ac-8722-4364-b3c7-b8a192af141a,
  abstract     = {{<p>Background and aims: Gambling disorder (GD) is a behavioral addiction often co-occurring with various mental health concerns, such as problematic pornography use (PPU). The specific impact of the co-occurrence of GD and PPU on treatment outcome remains underexplored. This study aimed to compare the treatment outcomes of individuals actively receiving treatment for GD (n = 172; 3.49% females), distinguishing between those without PPU (n = 146) and those with co-occurring GD and PPU (n = 26). Methods: Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) was administered in 16 weekly sessions, with assessments of GD severity, impulsivity, emotion regulation, psychopathology, and personality. Dropout, relapses, number of sessions attended, number of relapses, and amount of money spent during relapses were assessed as the main treatment outcomes. Results: Patients with co-occurring GD and PPU showed greater GD severity, psychopathology, impulsivity, and difficulties in emotional regulation compared to those with GD and without PPU. Moreover, the presence of PPU appeared to be mainly associated with higher likelihood of treatment dropout, and, consequently, fewer CBT sessions attended. Discussion and Conclusions: It is important to evaluate GD/PPU co-occurrence and strengthen the CBT approach for GD patients with PPU by using supplementary strategies to improve treatment adherence.</p>}},
  author       = {{Mestre-Bach, Gemma and Potenza, Marc N. and Granero, Roser and Håkansson, Anders and Gómez-Peña, Mónica and Perales, Iván and Vicó, Àngela and Uríszar, Juan Carlos and Fernández-Aranda, Fernando and Sánchez, Isabel and Jiménez-Murcia, Susana}},
  issn         = {{2062-5871}},
  keywords     = {{addictive behaviors; compulsive behaviors; dropout; gambling disorder; impulsive behaviors; problematic pornography use; recovery; relapse; treatment outcome}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{03}},
  number       = {{1}},
  pages        = {{465--479}},
  publisher    = {{Akademiai Kiado}},
  series       = {{Journal of Behavioral Addictions}},
  title        = {{Gambling disorder and problematic pornography use : Does co-occurrence influence treatment outcome?}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1556/2006.2025.00023}},
  doi          = {{10.1556/2006.2025.00023}},
  volume       = {{14}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}