Pathological gambling was officially defined as a psychiatric illness by
APA in 1980. The authors report on the results of a state-wide study in New
York that indicated significant differences between problem gamblers in the
general population and pathological gamblers entering publicly funded
treatment programs. These results, based on telephone interviews using
standardized assessment instruments with 1,000 persons, raise serious
clinical and programmatic issues regarding the development and organization
of appropriate services for pathological gamblers. They also point to the
fact that large segments of the general population are not receiving needed
services.
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