Efficacy of a Randomized Controlled Trial of Integrative Couple Treatment for Pathological Gambling (ICT-PG): 10-month Follow-up

Objective: Assess the efficacy of integrative couple treatment for pathological gambling (ICT-PG) in comparison to treatment provided in an individual approach.

Method: Eighty couples were assigned randomly to ICT-PG ( = 44, = 42.2, [13.4], male gamblers = 29) or individual treatment ( = 36, = 39.9 [13.0], male gamblers = 31) with follow-ups at 4- and 10-months postadmission regarding the severity of gambling, the individual and couple's well-being. Linear mixed and generalized estimating equation models for repeated measures were applied to take into account the dependency of observations. Protocol was preregistered at www.

Clinicaltrials: gov (ID: NCT02240485).

Results: Participants in both treatments generally improved over time with reductions on gambling expanses from an initial $4,000-$600 in a 90-day period following treatment, without difference across treatment conditions in money spent on gambling or frequency of gambling. However, on different indices of gambling severity, the participants in ICT-PG showed more improvement at follow-ups, with better control capacity ( = 2.57, < .0129) and greater reduction in gambling craving ( = 5.83, < .0001) and erroneous cognitions ( = 2.63, < .0063). The couple treatment was associated with a better individual well-being (e.g., less depression for partners, = 5.53; < .0351, and gamblers, = 2.37; < .0334) and couple well-being (e.g., better dyadic satisfaction for partners, = 2.02; < .0057, and gamblers, = 3.07; < .0212).

Conclusions: The results underline the necessity to provide a greater diversity of treatment for gamblers and their partner. Further research should focus on identifying active components of ICT-PG and widen its provision to gamblers with concurrent addiction disorders. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).