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Not yet recruiting NCT07066488

Brief ACT Intervention for Problem Gambling: A Pilot Study

No phase Interventional Problem Gambling

For patients and families

In plain language

An automatic summary of structured registry data. It is an orientation aid, not a substitute for the official protocol or a physician assessment.

What is being studied
The protocol lists: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT).
Who it may be relevant to
Registry conditions: Problem Gambling. Basic parameters: 18 years — 25 years · All.
What needs checking
Age, condition and sex are only basic indicators. Prior treatment, laboratory values and other mandatory requirements appear in the eligibility criteria below.
Where it takes place
Spain
Next step
Save the trial, show it to the treating physician, and confirm current recruitment with the study center. Costs, documents and travel →

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Official title

Brief Group Intervention Based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for Problem Gambling: A Pilot Study

Overview

The goal of this pilot study is to learn if Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) works to treat Problem Gambling in young adults.The main questions it aims to answer are: * Does ACT therapy improve health and gambling behavior? * Is an 8-week online group therapy format viable for youth with gambling problems? Researchers will assess whether changes in health, gambling behavior, and other psychological variables are observed after eight weeks of therapy. Participants will: * Attend weekly online group sessions for 8 weeks * Learn new tools that they will put into practice after the sessions * Be required to complete evaluation questionnaires before and after the intervention and at the 3- and 6-month follow-up

Detailed description

After being informed about the study, all patients giving written informed consent will be assessed to determine eligibility for study entry.

Patients who meet eligibility requirements will receive psychological intervention consisting in an 8-session group on line-delivered ACT-based treatment.

The participants will be assessed through self-report instruments before and after treatment and at 3 and 6 months follow-up.

The pilot study will not include a control group.

Interventions

  • Behavioral Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
    Acceptance and Commitment Therapy methods were focused on promoting Values clarification, Acceptance, Cognitive defusion, Committed action and Flexible attention to the present moment, and included methods such as the Garden Metaphor or defusion training.

Primary outcome measures

  • Change in Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) [Time frame: Change from Baseline severity of problem gambling at 8 months]
Secondary outcome measures (8)
  • Change in Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS-28) [Time frame: Change from Baseline emotion regulation at 8 months]
  • Change in General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) [Time frame: Change from Baseline psychological distress and perceived general health at 8 months]
  • Change in the Comprehensive ACT Process Assessment Questionnaire (CompACT) [Time frame: Change from Baseline psychological flexibility at 8 months]
  • Change in Values Living Questionnaire (VLQ) [Time frame: Change from Baseline value-behavior alignment at 8 months]
  • Change in Gambling-Related Emotional Distress Scale [Time frame: Change from Baseline gambling-related distress at 8 months]
  • Change in Gambling-Related Experiential Avoidance scale [Time frame: Change from Baseline Experiential Avoidance at 8 months]
  • Change in the frequency of self-reported gambling behaviors [Time frame: Change from Baseline gambling behaviors at 8 months]
  • Change in the frequency of committed actions [Time frame: Change from Baseline committed actions at 8 months]

Eligibility criteria

Inclusion criteria

  • Age between 18 and 25 years
  • Score ≥ 3 on the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI)
  • Comprehension of Spanish, online connection, and signed consent

Exclusion criteria

  • In active psychological or pharmacological treatment for gambling disorder
  • Having received ACT-based psychological treatment in the last 6 months
  • Problematic substance use: CAGE Adapted to Include Drugs Questionnaire (CAGE-AID) score ≥ 3
  • Difficulty consistently attending online sessions

Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.

Healthy volunteers: No

Study design

Allocation
N/A
Model
Single group
Masking
Open label
Primary purpose
Treatment

Study locations

Spain · 1 center
  • Universidad Europea de Madrid — Villaviciosa de Odón

Identifiers

NCT: NCT07066488 · 2025-81

Primary sources (government registries)

View this study on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗