@article{ref1,
title="Characteristics of treatment seeking finnish pathological gamblers: baseline data from a treatment study",
journal="International journal of mental health and addiction",
year="2013",
author="Lahti, Tuuli and Halme, Jukka T. and Pankakoski, Maiju and Sinclair, David and Alho, Hannu",
volume="11",
number="3",
pages="307-314",
abstract="This article describes the socio-demographic characteristics and gambling behavior of 39 pathological gamblers who participated in our treatment study in 2009. The inclusion criteria of the study were: score of five or more on both the South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS) and a pathological gambling screen based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV). The first 39 patients meeting the inclusion criterion were recruited into the study. The average age of the subjects was 39 years, and 80 % were males. The lag-time between active gambling (at least three times per week) and the onset of a pathological gambling problem was short: within 2 years of active gambling, 62 % of the subjects reported having become pathological gamblers. Our results also indicated certain gender-specific differences in the age at initiation and in the severity of the gambling problem.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="1557-1874",
doi="10.1007/s11469-012-9411-4",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11469-012-9411-4"
}