Psychiatric comorbidity is common among pathological gamblers and is associated with greater severity of clinical problems. The DRD(2) gene could be a liability genetic factor for psychiatric comorbidity in pathological gambling.

In the United States, the usage of electronic media has become ubiquitous. However, the field of art therapy still lags behind in this respect, and it has failed to embrace the use of technology in clinical practice. There exists some evidence that art therapists resist the use of technology in practice because there is little substantiation that digital media is as effective as conventional media in the treatment of mental health issues. Hence, the present study examined if a switch from conventional to digital media impacted the dependent variables (i.e., anxiety, client treatment satisfaction). The experimental design employed was an ABAB reversal design. Results did not indicate this switch had any effect.

In the United States, the use of digital media has become omnipresent and has changed how people communicate, conduct business, and create art and music. However, art therapy lags behind the current culture of prolific use of digital media. To date, there is very little experimental research on the use of digital media in the field of art therapy. The deficiency of evidence that digital media is as effective as conventional media is an obstacle to a full embrace and adoption of technology in practice by the field. The present study was designed to address this lack of evidence. Specifically, this study examined the impact of a switch from conventional to digital media in a mandala-based art therapy upon three dependent variables of interest. These variables were anxiety, vicarious traumatization, and client treatment satisfaction. An ABAB reversal design was used. Results suggested that such a switch had no impact.