gambling may not fit into one of the models mentioned above, but rather a mixed group with different subtypes that share certain characteristics.Both biological and psychological factors play a role in compulsive gambling. Pathological gambling is a chronic and progressive condition that disrupts the life of the individual and those close to him. Not only is pathological gambling associated with financial problems due to the large amounts of money spent on the activity or the loss of a job, but this disorder increases the likelihood of other emotional and psychiatric problems, and general health problems in the individual or his family (Lorenz V, Yaffee, R. 40-49). Suicide is a possible consequence of pathological gambling. Other consequences might be mood disorders, schizophrenia and some neurological conditions.The World Health Organization (WHO), as well as the APA, classified Compulsive gambling as an impulse control disorder, because the individual becomes increasingly incapable of resisting his impulses to gamble. All the impulse control disorders share the following characteristics: difficulties to resist an impulse, desire or temptation to perform some behavior that is detrimental for the individual or others; a progressive emotional discomfort or tension before performing the act; pleasurable or gratifying feelings while performing the behavior, which means that the behavior is egosyntonic; in some cases, negative feelings of guilt, remorse or shame when the act is over. All these characteristics are recognizable in a compulsive gambler.Some doctors consider that pathological gambling is best understood as an obsessive-compulsive disorder. The term obsessive-compulsive disorder is used to describe a group of disorders with similarities that also share genetic and biological mechanisms. Patients that have obsessive-compulsive disorders show an intense desire to perform a specific behavior preceded by unpleasant feelings...
