A NAIKAN INTERVIEW INTERVENTION FOR PATHOLOGICAL GAMBLERS

Introduction. Past research has theorized that gambling is an impulse control disorder resulting from the belief that gambling fulfills various desires. Thus, some interventions focus on encouraging gamblers not to strive for abstinence per se, but to seek alternative methods of fulfilling these desires. This study assesses the extent to which gambling behavior can be decreased by a Naikan interview encouraging gamblers to recall past experiences where desires typically fulfilled by gambling were satisfied in a non-gambling context. Methods. Participants were 19 pathological gamblers treated in Kurihama Medical and Addiction Center for 9 months. Over the course of 6 laboratory sessions, participants were asked about demographic information, medical/psychiatric history, gambling severity, and gambling-related outcomes 3 months following the intervention. Results. Following the intervention, participants' overall gambling severity had significantly decreased. In total, 63.2% of participants remained abstinent following the intervention. Even participants who reported low motivation to stop gambling (58%) showed good abstinence rates (63.6%) following the intervention. Furthermore, multivariate analysis revealed that the primary independent predictor of abstinence following the intervention was high gambling severity scores at baseline. Conclusion. The Naikan intervention resulted in heightened motivation to quit gambling without feelings of shame and denial.