Gambling addiction in India: A survey of Indian psychiatrists

Abstract

We surveyed 121 Indian psychiatrists to explore their understanding of gambling addiction, their exposure to patients with gambling addiction in their day to day clinical practice, and their perception about the feasibility of getting involved in managing these patients. 80.9% of psychiatrists who responded said they had seen patients with gambling addiction in their clinical practice. However, only 19.1% reported ever having received any teaching or training in the management of gambling addicts. 90.2% of psychiatrists said it was feasible for them to be involved in the management of gambling addiction, and 80.7% of those who responded specifically said they would like to receive training in the treatment of gambling disorders. At an operational level, much more needs to be done to improve training of psychiatrists in India as regards identification, assessment and treatment of gambling addicts. And strategy-wise, gambling addiction needs to be given a more prominent place in clinical, policy and academic discourse within the landscape of mainstream Indian psychiatry. Keywords: Gambling addiction; Primary care; Psychiatrists; Management