Sociodemographic and psychopathological predictors of criminal behavior in women with gambling disorder

Publication date: May 2018
Source:Addictive Behaviors, Volume 80
Author(s): Gemma Mestre-Bach, Trevor Steward, Roser Granero, Fernando Fernández-Aranda, María Teresa Talón-Navarro, Àngel Cuquerella, Amparo del Pino-Gutiérrez, Neus Aymamí, Mónica Gómez-Peña, Núria Mallorquí-Bagué, Teresa Mena-Moreno, Cristina Vintró-Alcaraz, Marta Baño, Laura Moragas, Pablo Magaña, José Manuel Menchón, Susana Jiménez-Murcia
IntroductionWomen have been underrepresented in the empirical research of gambling disorder (GD), a psychiatric condition included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Health Disorders (DSM-5). More specifically, no studies to date have been carried out exploring the clinical phenotype of women with GD who have committed gambling-related illegal acts.AimsIn this study, we sought to delineate the clinical, personality and psychopathological differences between treatment-seeking women with GD, with and without a criminal record. Furthermore, we aimed to identify the variables that best predict the presence of illegal acts in this clinical group.Material and methodsData corresponded to n=273 treatment-seeking women who met criteria for GD. Two groups were compared: women with a history of criminal behavior (n=61, 22.34%) to those who did not (n=212, 77.66%) taking psychopathology, clinical and personality data into account.ResultsWomen who engaged in criminal acts were younger and endorsed higher psychopathology, GD severity, and novelty seeking levels than the other clinical group. Regarding the predictive model, women with higher levels of novelty seeking and lower levels of reward dependence were at higher risk of having a criminal record.Discussion, conclusions and implications for practice and/or policyOur findings uphold that women with GD and a history of illegal acts are especially vulnerable in terms of comorbid psychopathology and dysfunctional personality traits. Therefore, this population could potentially benefit from public policies that target their mental health needs.



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