Gambling disorder in the context of outpatient counselling and treatment: Background and design of a prospective German cohort study

OBJECTIVE: The prospective naturalistic study ‘Katamnese‐Studie’ conducted between 2014 and 2019 gathers evidence on the course of gambling disorder in German routine outpatient addiction care. This study elucidates design and methodological advantages and caveats of the study. METHODS: Participants of the multi‐centre cohort received written questionnaires at admission and at 6‐, 12‐, 24‐ and 36‐month follow‐up to assess socio‐demographic data, gambling behaviour, gambling‐related consequences and care offers sought. Subsequently, self‐reports were linked to client‐individual routine documentation for the German Addiction Care Statistical Service. Furthermore, employees of participating outpatient addiction care facilities were surveyed regarding experiences with and attitudes towards gambling disorder. Multivariate longitudinal regression models will portray changes in the severity of gambling disorder and gambling behaviour and explore associated client‐ and care‐related factors. CONCLUSION: The ‘Katamnese‐Studie’ covers the whole spectrum of outpatient gambling care. Keeping the design‐related caveats in mind (reliability of self‐reports, loss‐to‐follow‐up and issues regarding causal inference), the study is anticipated to draw a comprehensive picture of routine outpatient gambling care and key factors related to sustained remission. In the medium term, this information might support the development and subpopulation‐specific adaptation of recommendations on how to structure process and content of outpatient gambling care.