Personality profiles of hospitalized pathological gamblers: the California Personality Inventory

Studies of the personality of the pathological gambler have consisted primarily of case reports and findings on the MMPI. This article presents data on a sample of 70 pathological gamblers, 70 alcoholics in treatment, and 70 medical/surgical controls on the California Personality Inventory (CPI). Gamblers and alcoholics differed significantly from hospitalized controls on a number of scales, particularly on measures of socialization, ego control, and flexibility. Differences between the gamblers and alcoholics were few, with a trend for the alcoholics to be similar to the gamblers and intermediate between the other two groups. Implications for the treatment of the pathological gambler are discussed.