Browsing by Author "el-Guebaly, Nady"

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    Addressing Gambling-Related Harm Through Evidence-Based Practices
    (2007-03) Weinstock, Jeremiah; Wulfert, Edelgard; Marotta, Jeffrey; Grant, Jon; Casey, David; Lobo, Daniela; Tyssen, Eric; Diskin, Kate; el-Guebaly, Nady; Korman, Lorne; Stewart, Sherry; Peden, Nicole; d’Hondt, Rob; Moran-Cooper, Mia; Verlik, Kent; Burns, Paul
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    Cue-Induced Brain Activity in Pathological Gamblers
    (Elsevier, 2005-11) Crockford, David N.; Goodyear, Bradley; Edwards, Jodi; Quickfall, Jeremy; el-Guebaly, Nady
    Previous studies using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) have identified differential brain activity in healthy subjects performing gambling tasks and pathological gambling (PG) subjects with motivational and emotional predecessors for gambling and during tasks requiring response inhibition. The goal of the present study was to determine if PG subjects exhibit differential brain activity when exposed to visual gambling cues. Methods: 10 male DSM-IV-TR PG subjects and 10 matched healthy controls underwent fMRI during visual presentations of gambling-related video alternating with video of nature scenes. Results: PG subjects and controls exhibited overlap in areas of brain activity in response to the visual gambling cues; however, compared to control subjects, PG subjects exhibited significantly greater activity in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), including the inferior and medial frontal gyri, the right parahippocampal gyrus, and left occipital cortex, including the fusiform gyrus. PG subjects also reported a significant increase in mean craving for gambling after the study. Post-hoc analyses revealed a dissociation in visual processing stream (dorsal vs. ventral) activation by subject group and cue type. Conclusions: These findings may represent a component of cue-induced craving for gambling or conditioned behavior that could underlie pathological gambling.
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    Emergent Clinical Issues in Problem Gambling
    (2010-04) Battersby, Malcolm; Casey, David; Currie, Shawn; Currie, Cheryl; el-Guebaly, Nady; Gainsbury, Sally; Gibbs Van Brunschot, Erin; Lobo, Daniela S. S.; MacKay, Terri-Lynn; Marshall, Liam E.; Nilsson, Thomas; Sévigny, Serge; Smith, Garry J.; Tavares, Hermano; Westphal, Jim; Williams, Rob; Zohar, Joseph
    The "Emergent Clinical Issues in Problem Gambling" conference took place Friday, April 9 & Saturday, April 10, 2010 at The Banff Centre, Banff, Alberta, Canada. Presentation and discussion topics included competing perspectives on etiology and conceptualization of gambling disorders.
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    Factors Influencing the Development of Responsible Gambling: A Prospective Study (Update November 5th, 2004)
    (Alberta Gaming Research Institute, 2004-11-05) el-Guebaly, Nady; Hodgins, David C.; Smith, Garry J.; Williams, Robert J.; Williams, Vickii; Schopflocher, Don P.; Wood, Robert T.; Pickup, Mark
    Gambling is a normative activity in the Alberta population, with 82% of the adult population having gambled in the past year. Although the large majority of Albertans gamble responsibly, there is a small percentage that experience significant problems. The design of effective educational and legislative strategies to minimize the harm caused by gambling hinges on understanding the factors that promote responsible gambling and/or make people susceptible to problem gambling. Longitudinal studies are the optimal methodology for investigating such questions. This methodology has been used extensively and successfully in the fields of health, mental health, sociology and addiction. Unfortunately, there exist virtually no longitudinal studies of gambling. It is this important gap in the research literature that provided the impetus to assemble a cross-disciplinary and cross-university Alberta research team to develop the present proposal.
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    The Leisure, Lifestyle, & Lifecycle Project (LLLP): A Longitudinal Study of Gambling in Alberta. Final Report for the Alberta Gambling Research Institute
    (Alberta Gambling Research Institute, 2015-02) el-Guebaly, Nady; Casey, David M.; Currie, Shawn R.; Hodgins, David C.; Schopflocher, Don P.; Smith, Garry J.; Williams, Robert J.
    The Leisure, Lifestyle, and Lifecycle Project (LLLP) is a five-year prospective longitudinal study designed to collect data on the factors influencing change in gambling and problem gambling behavior over time. A sample of 1808 participants from four locations representing the diversity of the province of Alberta (Edmonton, Calgary, Lethbridge area, and Grand Prairie area) were recruited primarily through random digit dialing. In order to assess the development of gambling problems over the lifespan, five critical age ranges were targeted: 13-15, 18-20, 23-25, 43-45 and 63-65 year-olds. Individuals with relatively heavy involvement with gambling were over sampled. A broad array of psychosocial variables was assessed at baseline via telephone, face-to-face and computer self-completion interviews. The sample was weighted to match the population of Alberta according to age, gender, geographic location and the over sampling procedure. The three follow-up interviews of the cohort were completed by paper- or Internet-based surveys. Retention in the fourth and final assessment was 76.2% for the adult cohorts, 71.8% for the adolescent cohort, and 75.1% for the combined cohort. Three primary questions directed this project: 1. What are the normal patterns of continuity and discontinuity in gambling and problem gambling behaviour? 2. What biopsychosocial variables and behaviour patterns are most predictive of current and future problem gambling? 3. What etiological model of problem gambling is best supported by the longitudinal findings? This report provides analyses of the adult sample and focuses primarily on the first two of the primary research questions above - specifically, on identifying variables that are robust predictors of future problem gambling onset, the stability of gambling problems over time, and the development of a multivariate model that illustrates the interaction of gambling behaviour and problem gambling over time. A tentative etiological model is also presented to address the last research question. The LLLP sample problem gambler prevalence at wave 1 was 4.7% (weighted prevalence 3.2%). A similar longitudinal study was conducted during the same time period in Ontario, namely the Quinte Longitudinal Study. A set of parallel analyses was conducted on the QLS dataset to identify findings that were robustly supported in both studies. The collective findings of the 8 LLLP and QLS studies represent the most comprehensive longitudinal analysis of gambling and problem gambling currently in the literature.
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    Pathological gambling : the biopsychological variables and their management: Interim report, November 10, 2000
    (Alberta Gaming Research Institute, 2000-12) el-Guebaly, Nady; Hodgins, David C.
    This report includes summary tables about biological variables, psychological variables, comorbidities and biopsychological approaches to management. An annotated bibliography is also included. To explore these issues and to present a summary of the pertinent literature, the following process was followed. Themes and elements generally found in the literature were identified so that consistency during article reviews and entry into the database was maintained. Boundaries were set so that only published literature that had undergone peer review and was based on empirical work was used. Once these guidelines were in place, the themes or key words for the psychological, cognitive, biological, co-morbidity, and treatment areas were identified.
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    Prevention of Problem Gambling
    (2003-03) George, Elizabeth; Murray, Robert; Fischer, Leanne; Labrie, Richard; Roberts, Gary; Nowatzki, Nadine; Winters, Ken; el-Guebaly, Nady; Surovy, Ken; Harvey-Jansen, Z'Anne; Williams, Rob; Schrans, Tracy; Derevensky, Jeffrey; Mangham, Colin
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    Public Policy Implications of Gambling Research
    (2005-03) Simpson, Rob; Yealland, Brian; Bowal, Peter; Lipton, Michael; Borrell, Jennifer; Secker, Andrew; Pruden, Hal; Campbell, Colin; Schellinck, Tony; Verlik, Kent; el-Guebaly, Nady; Graydon, Gordon; McMullan, John; Williams, Rob; Hodgins, David; Wynne, Harold
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    Social judgments of behavioral versus substance-related addictions: A population-based study
    (Science Direct, 2014-11-01) Konkoly-Thege, Barna; Colman, Ian; el-Guebaly, Nady; Hodgins, David C; Patten, Scott B; Schopflocher, Don; Wolfe, Jody; Wild, T Cameron
    Background Recently, the concept of addiction has expanded to include many types of problematic repetitive behaviors beyond those related to substance misuse. This trend may have implications for the way that lay people think about addictions and about people struggling with addictive disorders. The aim of this study was to provide a better understanding of how the public understands a variety of substance-related and behavioral addictions. Methods A representative sample of 4000 individuals from Alberta, Canada completed an online survey. Participants were randomly assigned to answer questions about perceived addiction liability, etiology, and prevalence of problems with four substances (alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, and cocaine) and six behaviors (problematic gambling, eating, shopping, sexual behavior, video gaming, and work). Results Bivariate analyses revealed that respondents considered substances to have greater addiction liability than behaviors and that most risk factors (moral, biological, or psychosocial) were considered as more important in the etiology of behavioral versus substance addictions. A discriminant function analysis demonstrated that perceived addiction liability and character flaws were the two most important features differentiating judgments of substance-related versus behavioral addictions. Perceived addiction liability was judged to be greater for substances. Conversely, character flaws were viewed as more associated with behavioral addictions. Conclusions The general public appreciates the complex bio–psycho-social etiology underlying addictions, but perceives substance-related and behavioral addictions differently. These attitudes, in turn, may shape a variety of important outcomes, including the extent to which people believed to manifest behavioral addictions feel stigmatized, seek treatment, or initiate behavior changes on their own.