Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29883479›Full record

Trial reportPloS one2018

Effects of a depression-focused internet intervention in slot machine gamblers: A randomized controlled trial.

Lara Bücker, Julia Bierbrodt, Iver Hand, Charlotte Wittekind, Steffen Moritz

Erratum issuedOpen access · goldAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in PloS one, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 32 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
32citing papers in PubMed, 7 pooled it
7.4field-weighted citation impact, top 3% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

32 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 50 citations in OpenAlex.

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  8. Betting on change: An analysis of cognitive motivational behavior therapy versus referral to gamblers anonymous for gambling disorder.Psychology of addictive behaviors : journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors · 2025
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  17. Digital Health Applications in the Area of Mental Health.Deutsches Arzteblatt international · 2023
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Lara BückerDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-2068-1478
Julia BierbrodtDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
Iver HandAmbulatory Healthcare Center Falkenried, Hamburg, Germany.
Charlotte WittekindDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
Steffen MoritzDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
Universität Hamburg · DE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundProblematic and pathological gambling have been linked to depression. Despite a high demand for treatment and negative financial consequences, only a small fraction of problematic and pathological gamblers seek professional help. The existing treatment gap could be narrowed by providing low-threshold, anonymous internet-based interventions. The aim of the present study was to examine the acceptance and efficacy of an online-intervention for depression ("Deprexis") in a sample of problematic and pathological slot-machine gamblers. We hypothesized that the intervention group would show a greater reduction in both depressive and gambling-related symptoms compared to a wait-list control group.

methodA total of 140 individuals with self-reported gambling and mood problems were randomly allocated either to the intervention group or to a wait-list control group. After 8 weeks, all participants were invited for re-assessment. The Patient Health Questionnaire - 9 (PHQ-9) served as the primary outcome assessment. Problematic gambling was measured with the Pathological Gambling Adaptation of Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (PG-YBOCS) and the South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS). The trial is registered with the German Registry for Clinical Studies (DRKS00013888).

resultsITT analyses showed that the intervention led to a significant reduction in depressive symptoms as well as gambling-related symptoms compared to the control group, with moderate to strong effect sizes. PP analyses failed to yield significant results due to high rates of non-completion and limited statistical power. Moderator analyses indicated that Deprexis was particularly beneficial in reducing problematic gambling for those scoring high on baseline gambling-related symptoms and for those who gamble due to loneliness. DISCUSSION: Results of the present study suggest that Deprexis might be a useful adjunct to traditional interventions for the treatment of problematic gambling. The potential of internet-based interventions that are more targeted at issues specific to gambling should be evaluated in future studies.

trial registrationGerman Registry for Clinical Studies DRKS00013888.

Indexed as

AdultDepressionFemaleGamblingHumansInternetMaleMiddle AgedPsychotherapySelf ReportTelemedicineTreatment OutcomeYoung Adult

Identifiers

PMID29883479
PMCPMC5993308
OpenAlexW2807136791

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.