Female pathological gamblers-A critical review of the clinical findings

Recent evidence indicates that more and more women gamble and develop gambling problems and pathological gambling (PG). Research has further indicated that female and male PGs differ in their clinical characteristics. The aim of this study is to do a critical review of the literature concerning clinical characteristics of female pathological gamblers (PGs) compared to males. We searched Medline/PubMed, Embase, PsycInfo, The Cochrane Library, Sociological Abstracts and Gender Studies databases from 1970 to 2007 for clinical issues related to female PGs. The searches identified 399 abstracts and 28 papers which were included in the review. The studies had a high frequency of methodological shortcomings. They indicated that gender differences exist in demographic characteristics, gambling behavior and consequences, as well as treatment needs. Further research should be done with adequate designs, and particularly focus on clinical issues relevant for treatment planning in the therapies of female PGs. © 2008 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.