SynthesisAddiction (Abingdon, England)2023
Effect of cognitive-behavioral techniques for problem gambling and gambling disorder: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Addiction (Abingdon, England), 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 43 citations in OpenAlex.
- Personalized Feedback Interventions for Indicated Prevention of Gambling Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of gambling studies · 2025Pooled it
- Betting on the Future: A Systematic Review of Modern Gambling Interventions for College Students.Journal of gambling studies · 2025Pooled it
- Cognitive-behavioral treatment for gambling harm: Umbrella review and meta-analysis.Clinical psychology review · 2023Pooled it
- Effects of cognitive behavioral techniques for gambling on recovery defined by gambling, psychological functioning, and quality of life: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Psychology of addictive behaviors : journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors · 2023Pooled it
- GamblingLess: In-The-Moment: a mixed-methods acceptability and engagement evaluation of a gambling just-in-time adaptive intervention.Addiction science & clinical practice · 2025Trial
- 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 · 2025Trial
- Testing the Efficacy of RESPONSIBLEPLAYInternational journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Trial
- Gambling Disorder and Suicide Risk: A Critical Gap in Psychiatric Assessment Guidelines.Journal of gambling studies · 2026Review
- Early Disengagement from Gambling Treatment: Insights from Clients and Practitioners.Journal of gambling studies · 2026Article
- A Brief Virtual Reality Intervention Reduces Gambling Symptoms and Gambling Engagement: A Pilot Study.Journal of gambling studies · 2026Article
- Early program participation and treatment retention in outpatients with gambling disorder: a real-world retrospective study in Japan.Addiction science & clinical practice · 2026Article
- Adaptation of the Online Problem Gambling Behavior Index: Associations with Emotional Reactivity and Psychological Distress.Journal of gambling studies · 2026Article
- Behavioral addictions in Africa: Emerging trends, challenges, and policy implications.Journal of behavioral addictions · 2026Review
- Outpatient psychotherapeutic treatment of gambling disorder - lessons learned from Bavaria.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Article
- "No one takes it seriously": U.S. military personnel with gambling concerns: recommendations for expanding treatment and public health efforts.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Symptom Clusters in Individuals Seeking Treatment for Gambling Disorder.Journal of gambling studies · 2025Article
- The General Acceptability and Use of Smartphone App-Delivered Interventions for Gambling in Australia.Journal of gambling studies · 2025Article
- Effectiveness of a Systems-Wide Initiative to Address Motivation and Expectations for Treatment on Initial Session Attendance to Outpatient Gambling Treatment.Journal of gambling studies · 2024Article
- Treatment of harmful gambling: a scoping review of United Kingdom-based intervention research.BMC psychiatry · 2024Article
- Internet-delivered therapist-assisted cognitive behavioral therapy for gambling disorder: a randomized controlled trial.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 6 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
aimsTo measure the effect of cognitive-behavioral techniques (CBTs) on gambling disorder severity and gambling behavior at post-treatment and follow-up.
methodSeven databases and two clinical trial registries were searched to identify peer-reviewed studies and unpublished studies of randomized controlled trials. The Cochrane Risk of Bias tool assessed risk of bias in the included studies. A random effect meta-analysis with robust variance estimation was conducted to measure the effect of CBTs relative to minimally treated or no treatment control groups.
resultsTwenty-nine studies representing 3991 participants were identified. CBTs significantly reduced gambling disorder severity (g = -1.14, 95% CI = -1.68, -0.60, 95% prediction interval [PI] = -2.97, 0.69), gambling frequency (g = -0.54, 95% CI = -0.80, -0.27, 95% PI = -1.48, 0.40) and gambling intensity (g = -0.32, 95% CI = -0.51, -0.13, 95% PI = -0.76, 0.12) at post-treatment relative to control. CBTs had no significant effect on follow-up outcomes. Analyses supported the presence of publication bias and high heterogeneity in effect size estimates.
conclusionsCognitive-behavioral techniques are a promising treatment for reducing gambling disorder and gambling behavior; however, the effect of cognitive-behavioral techniques on gambling disorder severity and gambling frequency and intensity at post-treatment is overestimated, and cognitive-behavioral techniques may not be reliably efficacious for all individuals seeking treatment for problem gambling and gambling disorder.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.