Parameters for Change in Offline Gambling Behavior After the First COVID-19 Lockdown in Germany.

Introduction: In spring 2020, the first nationwide lockdown in response to the spreading COVID-19 pandemic came into effect in Germany. From March to May, gambling venues, casinos, and betting offices were forced to close. This study explores how land-based gamblers respond to short-term closures of higher-risk forms of gambling.

Trends in risky prescriptions of opioid analgesics from 2011 to 2015 in Northern Germany.

Introduction: Due to their euphoric and sedative effects, opioid analgesics have high potential for abuse and dependence. In the last decade in the USA and many Western European Countries the prescription rates of opioid analgesics have steadily increased.

Objective: This study describes 5-year trends in the prescription of opioid analgesics and risk indicators such as duration, dose and 'doctor shopping' in Northern Germany.

Problematic Medication With Benzodiazepines, "Z-drugs", and Opioid Analgesics.

Background: An estimated 1.4 to 2.6 million people in German suffer from drug dependence.

Learning How to Ask - Does a one-day training increase trauma inquiry in routine substance use disorder practice? Results of a cluster-randomized controlled trial.

Aims: To examine the effectiveness of a one-day skills training program for increasing trauma inquiry in routine substance use disorder treatment.

Design: Cluster-randomized two-armed controlled trial, with 12 substance use disorder (SUD) organizations operating 25 counseling centers, randomly assigned to training in trauma inquiry (13 counseling centers of 8 SUD organizations) or no training (12 counseling centers of 4 SUD organizations).

Setting: SUD counseling centers in Northern Germany.

[Benzodiazepines and Z-Drugs - Analyses of Ambulatory Prescriptions from 2006 to 2015].

Objective: The majority of medication-dependent persons uses sedatives and hypnotics for many years. In this study we describe trends of benzodiazepine and z-drug prescriptions over a 10-years period.

Methods: Prescriptions from 2006 to 2015 (based on German statutory health insurances) from the North German Pharmacy Computing Centre (NARZ) were analysed for the Federal states Schleswig-Holstein, Hamburg, Lower Saxony and Bremen.

Reducing barriers to trauma inquiry in substance use disorder treatment - a cluster-randomized controlled trial.

Background: Despite the high rate of traumatic events in clients with substance use disorders, trauma exposure often remains undetected in a majority of treatment-seeking clients. Improving health professionals' knowledge and skills in the inquiry of traumatic events is therefore of utmost importance for appropriately addressing trauma-related treatment needs. However, professionals in substance use disorder treatment settings frequently report barriers to the inquiry about traumatic events, e.

Profiles of childhood adversities in pathological gamblers - A latent class analysis.

Despite of high rates of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in pathological gamblers, researchers have rarely studied which types of ACEs often co-occur and how these profiles of ACEs are related to current psychopathology. We aimed to identify profiles of ACEs in pathological gamblers and examined how these profiles were related to gambling-related characteristics and current general psychopathology. In 329 current or lifetime pathological gamblers, diagnosed with the Composite Diagnostic Interview for DSM-IV, 10 types of ACEs were measured using the Adverse Childhood Experiences Questionnaire.

Comparative Analysis of Potential Risk Factors for at-Risk Gambling, Problem Gambling and Gambling Disorder among Current Gamblers-Results of the Austrian Representative Survey 2015.

The risk of developing a problem gambling behavior is distributed unequally among the population. For example, individuals who report stressful life events, show impairments of mental health or belong to a socio-economically deprived group are affected more frequently by gambling problems. The aim of our study is to investigate whether these risk factors are equally relevant for all gambling groups (social = 0 DSM-5 criteria, at risk = 1 DSM-5 criterion, problem = 2-3 DSM-5 criteria, disordered = 4-9 DSM-5 criteria).

[The use of prescription drugs with dependence potential in Germany : A prospective analysis of prescriptions in the public healthcare system between 2006 and 2010].

Background: In Germany, about 1.4 to 2.6 million people are dependent on prescription drugs, mainly benzodiazepine derivatives and opioid analgesics.

"Learning how to ask": Effectiveness of a training for trauma inquiry and response in substance use disorder healthcare professionals.

Context: Exposure to traumatic events should be systematically assessed in health care services so that trauma-related treatment can be offered when appropriate. However, professionals often lack expertise in trauma inquiry and response, and therefore require training in this field.

Objective: We aimed to determine whether the "Learning how to ask" training for trauma inquiry and response (Read, Hammersley, & Rudegeair, 2007) is effective in increasing health care professionals' trauma inquiry behavior.