How treatments for pathological gambling can be informed by treatments of substance use disorders

Substance use disorders and pathological gambling share similarities in terms of diagnostic criteria, epidemiology, and clinical course. However, relatively few studies have evaluated the efficacy of treatments for gambling disorders. As interest in pathological gambling grows, adaptation of effective treatments from the field of substance abuse may advance the study of treatment for pathological gambling. This article reviews the similarities and differences between pathological gambling and substance use disorders. It describes psychotherapeutic and pharmacological treatments for substance use disorders and their translation to patho-logical gambling. Future research should consider investigating the onset and course of pathological gambling within the context of other psychiatric disorders, biological abnormal-ities associated with gambling, and combined effects of psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy in the treatment of this disorder. Pathological gambling is defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed. [DSM–IV]