Team Development Grants

The objectives of the Team Development Grant were to further strengthen an International Collaboration between the University of Calgary and the University of Sao Paulo. We aimed to achieve these objectives through advancing capacity and team building as well as to advance impact of knowledge through peer-reviewed publications.

We were able to meet the objectives of the grant in several ways. First, Dr. Juan Tovar completed a successful international exchange to the University of Calgary from Sao Paulo, Brazil. Dr. Tovar is a Masters student at the University of Sao Paulo and is the research coordinator for Dr. Tavares’ Behavioral Addictions and Impulse Control Disorders Unit. At the University of Calgary, Dr. Tovar learned research skills such as literature searches, statistical software, and preparing manuscripts, skills in which he was able to bring back to the research team in Brazil.

We were also able to advance capacity and team building through the Team Development Grant. Ms. Megan Cowie from the University of Calgary completed a successful international exchange to the University of Sao Paulo under the supervision of Dr. Andre Malbergier. Dr. Malbergier leads the Substance Use Treatment and Research Program at the University of Sao Paulo. Through the grant, and efforts of Ms. Cowie, we were able to harmonize the data collection protocol for Dr. Tavares and Dr, Malbergier, which will facilitate future collaborations between the programs. Additionally, we have also connected with Dr. Marco Scanavino who directs the Treatment and Research Program for the Compulsive Sexual Behaviors clinic. Dr. Scanavino has also coordinated his research protocol, which will further facilitate collaborations from the University of Calgary and clinics at the University of Sao Paulo that focus on Addictions and Impulse Control Disorders.

In order to advance the impact of knowledge, we have been working judiciously on combining the rich clinical data sets from the University of Calgary – a process that is nearly complete. This data set contains a wealth of demographic, clinical, and neuropsychological data from over 3000 patients at USP. We are in the midst of cleaning and scoring the data. Once it is complete, the data set with provide a wealth of opportunities for future secondary analyses. To date, we have published 4 peer-reviewed manuscripts and 18 conference presentations as a direct result of the Team Development grant with more studies planned for the future.

The research productivity afforded by the Team Development Grant has added to our understanding of the complexities of gambling disorder when it co-occurs with another addiction or mental health disorder. The studies that have been conducted through the Team Development Grant has suggested that comorbidity of other addictions and mental health is the norm among people seeking treatment for gambling in Brazil and these individuals present with greater clinical complexities such as increased severity of gambling problems. Additionally, we have begun to investigate the transdiagnostic mechanisms of comorbidities with gambling and depression (Schulter et al., 2019) and have begun studies comparing the similarities between gambling and other addictive disorders. We anticipate continued studies investigating the pattern of comorbidities in gambling as well as the mechanisms underlying the comorbidities in the future.

Sharif-Razi, M., Kim, H. S., Hodgins, D.C., McGrath, D. von Ranson, K., & Tavares, H. (accepted). Gender differences in people seeking treatment for gambling disorder with a comorbid eating disorder: a preliminary study. Archives of Clinical Psychiatry.

Tang, K, Kim, H. S., Hodgins, D. C., McGrath D. S., & Tavares, H. (2020). Gambling disorder and comorbid behavioral addictions: Demographic, clinical, and personality correlates. Psychiatry Research, 284, 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2020.112763

Cowie, M. E., Kim, H. S., Hodgins, D. C., Scananivo, M., McGrath, D. S., & Tavares, H. (2019). Demographic and psychiatric correlates of compulsive sexual behaviors in gambling disorder. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 8(3), 451-462. https://doi.org/10.1556/2006.8.2019.35

Schulter, M., Kim, H. S., Poole, J. C., Hodgins, D. C., McGrath, D., Dobson, K., & Tavares, H. (2019). Gambling-related cognitive distortions mediate the relationship between depression and disordered gambling severity. Addictive Behaviors, 90, 318-323. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2018.11.038

Kim, H. S., Johnstone, S., Parmar, P., Viera, J., McGrath D., Hodgins, D. C., & Tavares, H. (2021, November). Examining the clinical correlates and role of sex on co-occurring depression among people seeking treatment for gambling disorder. [Poster presentation]. Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction’s Issues of Substance 2021 Virtual Conference.

Tang, K. T. Y, Kim, H. S., Hodgins, D. C., McGrath, D. S., & Tavares, H. (2021, May). Differences in demographic, clinical, and cognitions among people seeking treatment for gambling disorder with and without a comorbid behavioural addiction. [Poster presentation]. Canadian Association of Cognitive and Behavioural Therapies 2021 Virtual Conference.

Kim, H. S., Almeida, B., Wong, C., Lefebvre, T., McGrath, D. S., Hodgins, D. C., & Tavares, H. (2021, April). Correlates of anxiety symptoms among people seeking treatment for gambling disorder. [Poster presentation]. 2021 Alberta Gambling Research Conference, Virtual Poster Session.

Cowie, M. E., Kim, H. S., Hodgins, D. C., McGrath, D. S., Malbergier, A., & Tavares, H. (2021, April). A preliminary investigation into the transdiagnostic features of behavioural addictions and substance use disorder in individuals seeking treatment for gambling disorder. [Poster presentation]. 2021 Alberta Gambling Research Conference, Virtual Poster Session.

Tang, K. T. Y., Kim, H. S., Hodgins, D. C., McGrath, D. S., & Tavares, H. (2020, October). Gambling disorder with and without a comorbid behavioural addiction: Differences in demographic and clinical characteristics. [Poster presentation]. International Center for Responsible Gaming (ICRG) Conference, Virtual Poster Session.

Ethier, A., Kim, H. S., Hodgins, D. C., McGrath, D. S., & Tavares, H. (2020, May). Upping the ante: demographic and clinical correlates of antisocial personality disorder in gambling disorder. [Poster presentation]. 16th annual Hotchkiss Brain Institute Research Day, Calgary, AB.

Ethier, A. R., Kim, H. S., Hodgins, D. C., McGrath, D. S., Tavares, H., & Scananvino, M. D. T. (2020, March). Getting lucky: Comparing the demographic, personality, and clinical correlates of gambling disorder to compulsive sexual behaviour. [Poster presentation]. 2020 Alberta Gambling Research Institute Conference, Banff, AB. (Conference cancelled).

Cowie, M. S., Kim, H. S., Hodgins, D. C., McGrath, D. S., Malbergier, A, & Tavares, H. (2020, March). The transdiagnostic features of gambling disorder and substance use disorders. [Poster presentation]. 2020 Alberta Gambling Research Institute Conference, Banff, AB. (Conference cancelled).

Guidry, A., Kim, H. S., Hodgins, D. C., McGrath, D. S., & Tavares, H. (2019, June). When culture and gender meet: Problematic gambling in women from a Brazilian population. [Poster presentation]. 11th Annual Addiction Day Conference, Edmonton, AB.

Cowie, M. E., Kim, H. S., Hodgins, D. C., McGrath, D. S., & Tavares, H. (2019, May). Gender differences in non-suicidal self-injury in a sample of treatment-seeking gamblers. [Poster presentation]. 17th International Conference on Gambling and Risk Taking, Nevada, LV.

Fitzpatrick C. L., Romanow, N. K., Kim, H. S., Hodgins, D. C., McGrath, D. S., & Tavares, H. (2019, March). Impulsivity mediates the relationship between gambling problem severity and binge eating severity. [Poster presentation]. 2019 Alberta Gambling Research Institute Conference, Banff, Alberta.

Garcia, X., Kim, H. S., Hodgins, D. C., McGrath, D. S., & Tavares, H. (2019, March). Ethnic differences in gambling experiences in a representative sample of Brazilian lottery players. [Poster presentation]. 2019 Alberta Gambling Research Institute Conference, Banff, Alberta.

Cowie, M. E., Kim, H. S., Hodgins, D. C., McGrath, D. S., & Tavares, H. (2019, March). Gender differences in the patterns and clinical correlates of treatment-seeking gamblers who engage in non-suicidal self-injury. [Poster presentation]. 2019 Alberta Gambling Research Institute Conference, Banff, Alberta.

Budd, M. A., McGrath, D. S., Kim, H. S., Hodgins, D. C., & Tavares, H. (2019, March). Comorbid conditions in individuals seeking treatment for problem gambling in Brazil: An exploratory analysis. [Poster presentation]. 2019 Alberta Gambling Research Institute Conference, Banff, Alberta.

Sharif-Razi, M., Leslie, D., Kim, H. S., Von Ranson, K. M., McGrath, D. S., Hodgins, D. C., & Tavares, H. (2019, March). Gender differences in treatment seeking gamblers with a comorbid eating disorder. [Poster presentation]. 2019 Alberta Gambling Research Institute Conference, Banff, Alberta.

Tovar, J. D., Kim, H. S., Martins de Castro Mariani, M., Sanches, M., Hodgins, D. C., & Tavares, H. (2019, March). Development and validation of a brief screener for gambling disorder among Brazilian lottery players [Poster presentation]. 2019 Alberta Gambling Research Institute Conference, Banff, Alberta.

Schulter, M., Kim, H. S., Poole, J. C., Hodgins, D. C., McGrath, D. S., Dobson, K. S., & Tavares, H. (2018, May). Gambling-related cognitive distortions mediate the relationship between depression and problem gambling severity. [Poster presentation]. 2018 Canadian Association for Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Conference, Vancouver, British Columbia.

Fitzpatrick, C. L., McGrath, D. S., Kim, H. S., Hodgins, D. C., & Tavares, H. (2018, April). Mental health of disordered gamblers with and without co-morbid substance abuse disorder. [Poster presentation]. 2018 Alberta Gambling Research Institute Conference, Banff, Alberta.