Integrative couple treatment for pathological gamblers with an emphasis on forgiveness processes: A case study with three couples

Addressing Gambling Harm to affected others: A scoping review (part II: Coping, assessment and treatment)

Public health definitions of gambling-related harm include risks to family members and friends. This scoping review broadly aims to identify recent research on addressing gambling harm to adult affected others, focusing on prevalence, socio-demographic profiles, gambling profiles, and harm (Part I); and coping strategies, assessment, and treatment (Part II). A systematic search of electronic databases identified 121 studies published from 2000, with 82 focusing on coping strategies (22.3 %), assessment (21.5 %), and treatment (39.7 %). Findings revealed affected others employ various coping strategies, which can be gambler- or family-focussed, before accessing other forms of support. Common strategies include financial strategies and informal support but few studies have assessed their effectiveness. Few brief fit-for-purpose instruments with adequate psychometric evaluation are available to assess affected other status, harm, coping, social support, and help-seeking. Affected others are under-represented in treatment (8 % in general practices, 15 %-26 % in online gambling services, 30 %-43 % in gambling helplines), largely due to various barriers, including a lack of service awareness and shame. Low-intensity internet-delivered interventions show promise and can reach affected others who would not otherwise receive professional help. Other affected other interventions, which can be gambler- and/or family-focused, demonstrate good acceptability but somewhat limited efficacy, while couple interventions demonstrate some promising outcomes, although more rigorous evaluations are needed. The diverse treatment needs and preferences of affected others, coupled with the relatively limited efficacy of current treatments, highlight the need for the development of tailored interventions. The findings of this review can be used to inform clinical, research, and policy decision-making.

Increased Interpersonal Brain Synchronization in Romantic Couples Is Associated with Higher Honesty: An fNIRS Hyperscanning Study

Previous studies on the brain-brain interaction of deception have shown different patterns of interpersonal brain synchronization (IBS) between different genders. However, the brain-brain mechanisms in the cross-sex composition need to be better understood. Furthermore, there needs to be more discussion about how relationships (e.g., romantic couples vs. strangers) affect the brain-brain mechanism under interactive deception. To elaborate on these issues, we used the functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS)-based hyperscanning approach to simultaneously measure interpersonal brain synchronization (IBS) in romantic couples (heterosexual) and cross-sex stranger dyads during the sender-receiver game. The behavioral results found that the deception rate of males was lower than that of females, and romantic couples were deceived less than strangers. Significantly increased IBS was observed in the frontopolar cortex (FPC) and right temporoparietal junction (rTPJ) of the romantic couple group. Moreover, the IBS is negatively correlated with the deception rate. No significantly increased IBS was observed in cross-sex stranger dyads. The result corroborated the lower deception of males and romantic couples in cross-sex interactions. Furthermore, IBS in the PFC and rTPJ was the underlying dual-brain neural basis for supporting honesty in romantic couples.