Journal of Business Management and Social Sciences Research (JBM&SSR) ISSN No: 2319‐5614 Volume 2, No.4, April 2013 _________________________________________________________________________________ www.borjournals.com Blue Ocean Research Journals 113 Therapeutic Interventions on Pathological Gamblers M.G. Sharma, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, Dept. of Psychology, Sri Agrasen Kanya P.G College, Parmanandpur, Varanasi, India Vandana Sharma, Ph.D. Psychologist, S. I. Mental and Physical Health Society (SIMPHS), C.33/204-1-B-1, Chandua Chhittupur, Varanasi, India Awadhesh Upadhyay, Associate Professor, Dept. of Psychology, Udai Pratap Autonomous College, Varanasi, India ABSTRACT The aim of this scientific study was to see the effect of therapeutic interventions on pathological gamblers. 259 subjects were consisted for this study out of these 55 experimental ( treated ) and 55 control ( untreated ) group of pathological gamblers were evaluated at the S.I. Mental and Physical Health Society (SIMPHS), Varanasi, India. All the subjects were matched on the variables of age range 29-65 years with mean age of 48.26 years. Eysenck Personality Questionnaire and Defense Mechanism Inventory were administered one by one at a time. Only those cases were recognized as pathological gamblers who had gambled for an average of minimum three years and were gambling over one-third their monthly incomes. Astrotherapy, psychotherapy and meditation were given to the experimental (treated) group of pathological gamblers for the requirements of the study. Experimental group (treated ) of this study who were attend to the centre for follow-up were requested to complete the questionnaire. Result indicates that experimental group of pathological gamblers have significantly higher on extraversion, projection, and turning against object and significantly lower on neuroticism, psychoticism, reversal, principalization, and turning against self as compared to the control group of pathological gamblers Introduction Despite D S M III (Spitzer, 1980) classifying pathological gambling under the residual category of “Disorder of Impulse Control”, there has been a strong trend to regard it has an addictive disorder (Dickerson, 1984, Blaszczynski et al. 1985) with many features found in drug and alcohol addiction including withdrawl symptoms of disturbed mood and / or behaviour (Wray & Dickerson, 1981), dependence (Moran, 1970) and tolerance (Dickerson, 1984). In the developed country as well as united state pathological gamblers are treated in alcohol and drug addiction centers. Similar individual, group psychotherapy and education programs are given to these groups and Gamblers Anonymous is modelled on the principles and format of Alcoholics Anonymous. The experimental analysis of addictive behaviours is strongly affected by Skinner’s (1853) operant conditioning paradigm. If pathological gambling is conceptualized as an addictive disorder then similar processes may also be seen to be operating with subjective excitement generated by gambling as the reinforcing factor Moskowitz (1980) commented that the thrill and excitement are so pleasurable that they are virtually addicting…. It is this charged-up feeling, a mixture of super confidence, enthusiasm, fear and guilt that seems to drine the patient towards the gaming table. Its in the clinical experience of Blaszczynski et al (1986) gamblers frequently described their excitement as analogous to the euphoric mood state of ‘fix’ experienced by drug addicts. A further observation suggested that the motivation to gamble differed between various forms of gambling. In addition to or because of the excitement of gambling, poker machine players reported secondary rewards in the form of “psychic or emotional escape” from stress. They become totally oblivious to their daily problems. Horse race addicts on the other hand more frequently reported that gambling served to reduce dysphoric mood states. Often they would delay the receipt of race results to prolong anticipatory excitement and arousal. Expectations of large wins which may lead to improved financial and socio-economic status may also provide current and anticipatory reinforcement value despite continued losses (Tec, 1964). Anderson and Brown (1984) and Brown (1984) postulated a model of gambling based on individual differences in autonomic and cortical arousal which, in interactions with irregular reinforcement schedules, led to the development of pathological gambling. There are some studies have shown gambling to be a risk-taking activity that is associated with a high degree of subjective excitement and physiological arousal Anderson and Brown (1984) found mean heart rate increases of