Current Addiction Reports, volume 12, issue 1, publication number 8

Recovery Blindness: The Concept of Recovery in Veterans with a Gambling Disorder – A Scoping Review*

Belle Gavriel-Fried ¹

Noa Vana ¹

Tiange Xu ²

Shane W. Kraus ²

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The Bob Shapell School of Social Work, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv, Tel Aviv, Israel |

Department of Psychology, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, USA |

Publication type: Journal Article

Publication date: 2025-02-01

Springer Nature

Journal: Current Addiction Reports

scimago Q1

SJR: 1.446

CiteScore: 6.6

Impact factor: 4.1

ISSN: 21962952

DOI: 10.1007/s40429-025-00617-y

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Abstract

Purpose of Review

Gambling disorder (GD) presents significant psychiatric challenges, particularly for vulnerable populations like military veterans, who often also face mental health comorbidities. Recovery is a crucial issue in the gambling field, representing a transition from illness to health. Currently, there is no consensus regarding its definition. This scoping review aimed to map the characteristics of studies on recovery in veterans with GD, explore how it is defined and measured, identify the dominate recovery approach, and the main research topics.

Recent Findings

This review identified 13 scientific articles. Findings showed minimal explicit use of the term “recovery” by researchers. The main recovery approach is the deficit based. Most studies focused on treatment programs and their effectiveness, neglecting the unique characteristics of veterans and alternative recovery pathways.