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<b><i>Background/Aims:</i></b> Only a small percentage of pathological gamblers utilizes professional treatment for gambling problems. Little is known about which social and gambling-related factors are associated with treatment utilization. The aim of this study was to look for factors associated with treatment utilization for pathological gambling. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> The study followed a sampling design with 3 different recruitment channels, namely (1) a general population-based telephone sample, (2) a gambling location sample and (3) a project telephone hotline. Pathological gambling was diagnosed in a telephone interview. Participants with pathological gambling (n = 395) received an in-depth clinical interview concerning treatment utilization, comorbid psychiatric disorders and social characteristics. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Variables associated with treatment were higher age [odds ratio (OR) 1.05, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.03-1.08], an increased number of DSM-IV criteria for pathological gambling (OR 1.34, 95% CI 1.06-1.70), more adverse consequences from gambling (OR 1.10, 95% CI 1.03-1.16) and more social pressure from significant others (OR 1.17, 95% CI 1.07-1.27). Affective disorders were associated with treatment utilization in the univariate analysis (OR 1.81, 95% CI 1.19-2.73), but multivariate analysis showed that comorbid psychiatric disorders were not independently associated. <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> These results indicate that individuals with more severe gambling problems utilize treatment at an older age when more adverse consequences have occurred. Further research should focus on proactive early interventions.

This study aims to analyze psychometric properties and validity of the Compulsive Internet Use Scale (CIUS) and the Internet Addiction Test (IAT) and, second, to determine a threshold for the CIUS which matches the IAT cut-off for detecting problematic Internet use. A total of 292 subjects with problematic or pathological gambling (237 men, 55 women) aged 14-63 years and with private Internet use for at least 1 h per working or weekend day were recruited via different recruitment channels. Results include that both scales were internally consistent (Cronbach's α = 0.9) and had satisfactory convergent validity (r = 0.75; 95% CI 0.70-0.80). The correlation with duration of private Internet use per week was significantly higher for the CIUS (r = 0.54) compared to the IAT (r = 0.40). Among all participants, 25.3% were classified as problematic Internet users based on the IAT with a cut-off ≥40. The highest proportion of congruent classified cases results from a CIUS cut-off ≥18 (sensitivity 79.7%, specificity 79.4%). However, a higher cut-off (≥21) seems to be more appropriate for prevalence estimation of problematic Internet use.

<b><i>Background:</i></b> A pre-post pilot study was conducted to test the feasibility, acceptability, and potential effectiveness of a fully automatized computer-based intervention targeting hazardous drinking and depressiveness in proactively recruited health care patients (HCPs). To address the importance of the sample selection when testing interventions, HCPs were compared to media recruited volunteers (MVs). <b><i>Method:</i></b> In a multicenter screening program 2,773 HCPs were screened for hazardous drinking and depressive symptoms. MVs were recruited via media solicitation. Over a period of 6 months, study participants received 6 individualized counseling letters and weekly short messages. Pre-post data were analyzed for 30 participants (15 HCPs, 15 MVs). Intervention acceptability was assessed in post-intervention interviews conducted with 32 study participants. <b><i>Results:</i></b> MVs showed higher problem severity and motivation to change than HCPs. Over the course of the intervention both subsamples reduced regular binge drinking (HCPs: <i>p</i> = 0.016; MVs: <i>p</i> = 0.031) and depressiveness (HCPs: <i>p</i> = 0.020; MVs: <i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.001). MVs further reduced average daily alcohol consumption (<i>p</i> = 0.034). The intervention received positive ratings from both subsamples, the alcohol module was rated more favorably by MVs than by HCPs (<i>p</i> = 0.012). Subsamples further differed in terms of intervention usage (<i>p</i> = 0.013). <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> The intervention was technically and logistically feasible, well accepted, and may have the potential to reduce hazardous drinking and depressive symptoms in different populations. Subsamples differed in terms of problem severity, motivation to change, intervention usage, pre-post changes, and attitudes toward the intervention, showing that intervention development should involve the intended target populations to avoid biased conclusions on intervention effectiveness and acceptability.