Gambling Problems in US Military Veterans

Screening for Gambling Disorder in VA Primary Care Behavioral Health: A Pilot Study

“…Internet-based interventions may be particularly relevant during the COVID-19 pandemic, which may be impacting gambling and help-seeking behaviors (Håkansson et al, 2020). Gambling research in veteran populations is particularly important as veterans have been identified as a high-risk group for developing problem gambling; however, research evaluating effective treatment strategies for this population remains limited (Etuk et al, 2020).…”

“…As discussed elsewhere (Freeman et al, 2020;Etuk et al, 2020), more research is needed to accurately determine the prevalence of ARPG among veterans, particularly with a greater understanding of gambling behaviors and motivations for gambling among veterans. Although this study did not assess contexts in which gambling occurs among veterans (e.g., alone, with friends or family), there is evidence that veterans who gamble with friends or family may be at greater risk for developing problem gambling.…”

“…Among treatment-seeking Veterans Affairs (VA) patients diagnosed with GD, research has also revealed frequent co-occurrences of substance use disorders and PTSD (Grubbs et al, 2018;Grubbs et al, 2019;Ronzitti et al, 2019;Shirk et al, 2018). Unfortunately, gambling research conducted on U.S. veterans is scarce, despite growing evidence that this group may be particularly vulnerable to developing gambling problems (Etuk et al, 2020). Stefanovics et al (2017) surveyed 3,157 veterans and examined associations between gambling behaviors and psychopathology.…”

“…Although the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs serves over six million veteran patients (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 2017), many of whom have chronic medical and mental health conditions, routine screening for addictive disorders, including GD, remains inconsistent across VA hospitals and community-based outpatient clinics. Significant barriers around standardized screening for addictive disorders in VA hospitals persist (Etuk et al, 2020;Otto et al, 2020), reflecting missed opportunities for early detection of undiagnosed addictive behaviors and subsequent treatment among VA patients. One possible strategy for potentially increasing VA patients' engagement in treatment for GD is to first identify individuals with concerns by conducting more routine, standardized screenings across VA primary care clinics.…”

Elevated Prevalence of Adverse Childhood Experiences in Severe Gambling Disorder: A Pilot Study in U.S. Veterans

“…Concurrently, adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have been identified as potential factors in the development of a broad range of medical and mental disorders (Hughes et al, 2017). Although preliminary studies suggest a general association between ACEs and pathological gambling (Etuk et al, 2020;Poole et al, 2017), whether this link persists within groups that already have an elevated prevalence of ACEs is not known.…”