Efficacy of a self-help treatment for at-risk and pathological gamblers
Abstract
Available evidence suggests that self-help treatments may reduce problem gambling severity but inconsistencies of results across clinical trials leave the extent of their benefits unclear. Moreover, no self-help treatment has yet been validated within a French Canadian setting. The current study therefore assesses the efficacy of a French language self-help treatment including three motivational telephone interviews spread over an 11-week period and a cognitive-behavioral self-help workbook. At-risk and pathological gamblers were randomly assigned to the treatment group (n = 31) or the waiting list (n = 31). Relative to the waiting list, the treatment group showed a statistically significant reduction in the number of DSM-5 gambling disorder criteria met, gambling habits, and gambling consequences at Week 11. Perceived self-efficacy and life satisfaction also significantly improved after 11 weeks for the treatment group, but not for the waiting list group. At Week 11, 13% of participants had dropped out of the study. All significant changes reported for the treatment group were maintained throughout 1, 6 and 12-month follow-ups. Results support the efficacy of the self-help treatment to reduce problem gambling severity, gambling behaviour and to improve overall functioning among a sample of French Canadian problem gamblers over short, medium and long term. Findings from this study lend support to the appropriateness of self-help treatments for problem gamblers and help clarify inconsistencies found in the literature. The low dropout rate is discussed with respect to the advantages of the self-help format. Clinical and methodological implications of the results are put forth.
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WL control designs are appropriate for estimating treatment effects compared to no-treatment.
“WL control designs have been used in previous studies (Boudreault et al., 2018; Carlbring and Smith, 2008; Magnusson et al., 2019; Oei et al., 2018), and they are appropriate for estimating treatment effects compared to no-treatment.”
From Efficacy of an internet-based psychological intervention for problem gambling and gambling disorder: Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial (2021) · cites this paper as Boudreault et al., 2018
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Théberge, C., Boudreault, C., & Giroux, I. (2026) · Revue québécoise de psychologie · doi:10.7202/1124383ar
- Authors
- Boudreault, C., Giroux, I., Jacques, C., Goulet, A., Simoneau, H., & Ladouceur, R.
- Affiliations
- Université Laval (CA)
- Santé Québec Centre-Sud-de-l’Île-de-Montréal – Universitaire (CA)
- Corresponding author
- Boudreault, Catherine
- Venue
- Journal of Gambling Studies
- Published
- 2017-09-13
- Volume
- 34
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 561-580
- ISSN
- 1050-5350 (ISSN-L)
- 1573-3602
- OpenAlex
- W2754236387
- Cited by
- 19
- References
- 50
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 2
- FWCI
- 1.02
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Gambling Studies (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Fonds de Recherche du Québec-Société et Culture (2012-JU-164278)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Gambling Behavior and Treatments
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Keywords
- problem gambling, gambling addiction, at-risk gamblers, self-help treatment, treatment efficacy, self-efficacy, life satisfaction, dropout, long-term follow-up
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Canada, Female, Gambling, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Surveys and Questionnaires, Self Care, Health Behavior, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Behavior, Addictive, Treatment Outcome, Motivational Interviewing
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