Personalidad y perfiles clínicos relacionados con el éxito o recaída en el tratamiento de jugadores patológicos (Personality and clinical profiles related to rehabilitation or relapse in the treatment of pathological gamblers)

The goal of the present study was to determine whether there are differences between pathological gamblers in personality patterns and clinical syndromes as a function of rehabilitation or relapse. We followed up 176 gamblers from a rehabilitation centre who underwent therapy in self-help groups. Therapy lasted 2 years and was divided into three 8-month phases. Individuals who dropped out in the first phase were considered to have relapsed; those who dropped out in the second phase were considered to be cases of delayed relapse; those who stayed until the end of phase three were considered rehabilitated. Participants were assessed using the Millon Multiaxial Clinical Inventory prior to treatment. We analyzed the differences in personality patterns and clinical syndromes between participants who relapsed in the first or second phase and those who achieved rehabilitation. In total, 61.93% of the participants achieved therapeutic success. The only significant difference was in the antisocial personality variable; participants who completed the treatment programme had lower scores in this variable. No differences were found in the number of people who were rehabilitated as a function of their previous clinical profile.