Problem Gambling in Women: An International Female Perspective on Treatment and Research
Abstract
This book brings together an international selection of academics with expertise in problem gambling issues in women, with chapters reflecting ongoing work with female gamblers across the world in both group and individual settings. In choosing such a specific patient group, the authors aim to raise the profile of gambling disorders in women and also provide fellow professionals across the world with a shared understanding of evidence based treatment and recovery in problem gambling literature and research. Gambling Disorders in Women: An International Female Perspective on Treatment and Research will provide professionals working in addictions and policy-making with much-needed knowledge about a seriously under-represented area, and about which many professionals feel they would like to know more. The book will also highlight different international approaches to the provision of treatment for women in each country as well as the epidemiology of the illness. © 2017 selection and editorial matter, Henrietta Bowden-Jones and Fulvia Prever. All rights reserved.
... First, researchers have already made substantial progress in determination of the differences between adult men and women in terms of their gambling activity (Castrén et al., 2017;Ladd & Petry, 2002). Women are also different from men in terms of their respective motivations to gamble (Bowden-Jones & Prever, 2017;Corney & Davis, 2010;Holdsworth et al., 2012;Toneatto & Wang, 2009;Walker et al., 2005). Despite the research confirming these differences, seniors, in gambling research are most often perceived as a homogeneous group when it comes to gender (McNeilly & Burke, 2002;Tira et al., 2014;Tirachaimongkol et al., 2010). ...
Studies show that differences exist in how women and men gamble. However, publications devoted to senior gamblers usually describe them as a homogeneous
group without distinguishing between senior men and women. The purpose of this qualitative research was to explore the experience of gambling by older women. The
article presents how interest in gambling developed in a group of older women who
gamble recreationally. In-depth interviews conducted with 26 non-addicted women
have revealed that in retirement they most often return to this activity known for
many years, and the initiation of gambling rarely occurs during this period of life.
Retired women gamble more often and more regularly than do younger women, explained by them having fewer responsibilities and more free time, yet they are able to maintain control over their spending on the game. The results of this study suggest that gambling can be valid a form of recreation in retirement, but psychoeducation about threats and the use of responsible gambling strategies is important.
... In 1999, the feminization of gambling was already drawing the attention of the Australian Productivity Commission Report (Productivity Commission, 1999), which stated that increasingly more women gamble and develop problems related to gambling. Since then, this phenomenon has been widely reported in the scientific literature around the world (e.g., Afifi, Cox, Martens, Sareen, & Enns, 2010a;Bowden-Jones & Prever, 2017;Davis, 2009;Holdsworth, Hing, & Breen, 2012;Merkouris et al., 2016;Nuske, Holdsworth, & Breen, 2016;Richmond-Rakerd, Slutske, & Piasecki, 2013;Volberg, 2003;Wardle, 2017). Several studies converged to highlight the links between the legalization, accessibility and normalization of electronic gaming machines in the general population (Holdsworth et al., 2012;Volberg, 2003) and women's preference for gambling activities based on chance such as with these machines (Baggio et al., 2018;Delfabbro, 2009;Hing & Breen, 2001;Nower & Blaszczynski, 2006;Potenza, Maciejewski, & Mazure, 2006). ...
Poker players are at high risk of experiencing gambling problems. Despite the feminization of gambling, little is known about the problems associated with poker playing among women. This cross-sectional study aims to examine relationships between gambling problems and factors generally associated with gambling problems (gambling behaviours, substance use and mental health) among women poker players. A total of 46 women were recruited through a broader prospective cohort study from the province of Quebec, Canada. The outcome variable of interest was participants’ scores on the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI); the predictive variables were gambling behaviours, alcohol and drug misuse (DEBA-Alcohol and drugs) and mental health (Beck anxiety and depression). Multiple logistic regression analyses revealed that the factors associated with gambling problems among women poker players are distinct from those of men. For women, severity of gambling problems is positively associated with Internet poker playing, playing slot machines and smoking cigarettes (p < .05). However, among these women, alcohol and drug misuse and mental health are not associated with gambling problems. Therefore, it is important to understand the risks associated with women poker players to develop preventive strategies adapted for this population and to adjust interventions accordingly.RésuméLes joueurs de poker sont une population à risque de présenter des problèmes de jeu. Malgré la féminisation des jeux de hasard et d’argent (JHA), les connaissances sont limitées quant aux problèmes liés au poker chez les femmes. Cette étude transversale vise à documenter le lien entre les problèmes de jeu et les facteurs généralement associés aux problèmes de jeu (comportements de jeu, consommation de substances et santé mentale) chez les joueuses de poker. Au total, 46 femmes ont été recrutées dans le cadre d'une étude de cohorte prospective plus large réalisée dans la province de Québec, au Canada. Le score à l'Indice Canadien du Jeu Excessif (ICJE) était la variable dépendante; les variables prédictives étaient les comportements de jeu, l'abus d'alcool et de drogues (DEBA-Alcool et Drogues) et la santé mentale (Inventaire d’anxiété et de dépression de Beck). Les analyses de régression logistique ont révélé que les facteurs associés aux problèmes de jeu chez les joueuses de poker sont distincts de ceux des hommes. Pour les femmes, la gravité des problèmes de jeu est positivement associée à jouer au poker sur Internet, à jouer aux machines à sous et à fumer des cigarettes (p < 0,05). Toutefois, chez ces femmes, ni l'abus d'alcool et de drogues, ni la santé mentale ne sont pas associés aux problèmes de jeu. Il est donc important de comprendre les risques associés aux problèmes de jeu chez les joueuses de poker afin de développer des stratégies de prévention adaptées à cette population et d'ajuster les interventions en conséquence.
... Generally, this is also true among adolescents (Huang and Boyer 2007). However, the body of literature disputing gender differences has grown in recent years, defying the stereotypical representations of male and female gambling (Bowden-Jones and Prever 2017;Nelson et al. 2006), and putting into question the supposedly innate preferences of women for chance-based games (Wardle 2017). The results in the present study challenge conventional wisdom about female skill-based gambling, and indicate similar trends in both Australian and Spanish female sports bettors and their problem gambling. ...
Betting on sport is one of the fastest developing forms of gambling internationally. Sports betting is attracting considerable scholarly, media, and regulatory attention due to the cultural salience of sport, and the rising public health concerns about the rapid proliferation and penetration of betting products in everyday life. Despite its global expansion, little is known regarding the comparative impact sports betting is having in different territories. This study aims to examine a sample of Australian (n = 738) and Spanish (n = 361) weekly sports bettors to assess their similarities and differences concerning sociodemographic characteristics, channels (i.e., online vs. offline) and devices used, in-play betting, and problem gambling severity. The findings showed high problem gambling scores among sports bettors in both countries, and consistent similarities in the association between problem gambling, in-play betting, and offline betting. Also, clear trends were observed between problem gambling, higher educational level, and female sport betting, particularly in the Australian sample. These results suggest a common pattern of risk factors for problematic sports betting and can help to inform worldwide regulatory efforts to tackle harmful sports betting-specific features such as in-play betting.
... Advances in technology and the liberalisation of gambling regulation has meant that gambling is more accessible and available than ever before. Researchers have argued that this accessibility has led to an increase in the number of women participating in gambling [35], with some suggesting that newer online platforms remove the some of the stigma associated with women attending male-dominated gambling venues [27]. However, this hypothesis does not explain women's increased attendance and participation in gambling at physical venues, such as casinos, clubs and hotels [28,36], as well as the increased popularity of gambling focused events such as horse racing carnivals. ...
Background
While the prevalence of women’s participation in gambling is steadily increasing, there is a well-recognised male bias in gambling research and policy. Few papers have sought to synthesise the literature relating to women and gambling-related harm and provide practical suggestions to guide future research, policy, and practice which take into account the specific nuances associated with women’s gambling.
Methods
A narrative literature review was conducted to review the evidence base on women’s gambling behaviours and experiences of harm. Drawing from strategies used effectively in other areas of public health, key elements for a gendered approach to harm prevention were identified and adapted into practical public health research, policy and practice strategies.
Results
Results indicated a lack of research that explores women’s gambling. Few studies have examined the impact of gambling on the lives of women, with limited understanding of the factors that influence women’s engagement with gambling products, and the impact of industry tactics. A gendered approach was identified as a strategy used successfully in other areas of public health to shift the focus onto women and to ensure they are considered in research. In tobacco control, increasing trends in women’s smoking behaviour were combatted with targeted research, policy and practical initiatives. These key elements were adapted to create a conceptual framework for reducing and preventing gambling harm in women. The framework provides regulatory direction and a research agenda to minimise gambling-related harm for women both in Australia and internationally. Evidence-based policies should be implemented to focus on the influence of gender and associated factors to address gambling-related harm. Practical interventions must take into account how women conceptualise and respond to gambling risk in order to develop specific harm prevention programs which respond to their needs.
Conclusion
A gendered approach to gambling harm prevention shifts the focus onto the unique factors associated with women’s gambling and specific ways to prevent harm. As seen in other areas of public health, such a framework enables harm measures, policies, and interventions to be developed that are salient to girls and women’s lives, experiences and circumstances.
Electronic supplementary material
The online version of this article (10.1186/s12954-019-0284-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
This is a much-needed book for anyone working in the behavioural addictions field written and collated by some of the leading female researchers and practitioners. If you want an insightful and engaging female perspective on behavioural addictions, then this is the book read.' 'This book focuses on global female perspectives on a range of behavioural addictions. There is an important need to understand better girls and women and how they may experience and be impacted by behavioural addictions involving gambling, gaming, internet use, love, sex, pornography viewing, eating and other behaviors. This impressive book includes over 30 chapters detailing aspects of often difficult-to-identify clinical concerns and how they may be impacting the health of women and girls, all communicated from womens' perspectives. This book sheds new light on many important topics, and provides a lens through which to view these from international vantage points. As such, this is an essential book that contributes to promoting female health and well-being.' 'Taking into consideration the most important yet most understudied areas of behavioural addictions research, one would certainly point to gender issues first. The current book is a huge step to address this gap. The book edited by Fulvia Prever, Gretchen Blycker, and Laura Brandt provides an excellent collection of papers studying women-specific aspects of behavioural addictions, covering a wide range of perspectives, and with a special focus on aetiology, needs, and treatment issues. Moreover, the global perspective of the book, with contributions from all over the world, makes it especially unique and important.'
Background
Addictive behavior of gambling, gaming and internet activity is partly a new research domain and has not been well investigated with regard to sexual minority populations. Although health disparities between sexual minorities and the general population are well documented, there is a lack of inclusion of sexual minorities in both research and clinic. Among lesbian, gay and bisexual populations certain features could be present that play a role for the development of addictive behaviors, such as social isolation and increased risk of other psychiatric problems. The aim of this study was to investigate problem gambling, problem gaming and problematic internet behavior in a European context and if it is affected by sexual orientation status.
Methods
An online web-survey was distributed among web-panels in England, Poland, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Denmark, and Sweden in 2017–2018.
Result
10 983 complete answers were collected. 7.1% of the participants had a sexual minority status ( n = 774). Regression models found that there was no difference in gambling, gaming and internet behavior among heterosexual and sexual minority men. Sexual minority women were associated with problematic gambling and gaming behavior, when also controlling for age and nationality. When also controlling for psychological distress, women defining as having another sexual minority status than lesbian and bisexual remained significant for having a problematic gaming behavior (AOR = 2.3).
Conclusion
An awareness of female sexual minority perspectives is relevant in facilities treating behavioral addiction as well as in future research in behavioral addiction. More research is needed in problematic gambling and gaming behavior in different sexual minority populations with regard to psychiatric comorbidity and living conditions. An inclusion of sexual minority groups defining as other than gay and bisexual is needed in future research. No significant differences were found between heterosexual and sexual minority men in adjusted analysis in this study.
Objectives: This article presents the results of a study conducted on older women who have retired from work and who gamble regularly. The aim of the study was an in-depth analysis of the motivation to gamble in older professional inactive women addicted and not addicted to gambling.
Method: In-depth interviews were conducted with 34 women aged 55+ years. Motivation factors for gambling among women addicted to gambling (n = 8) and those not addicted to gambling (n = 26) were subjected to in-depth thematic analysis of the content of the interviews.
Results: Five major categories were distinguished: sensations, money, activity, socialisation and escape. The most important factors for the women who were not addicted to gambling were sensations and money, followed by activity and socialisation. Women addicted to gambling, on the other hand, were mostly motivated by sensations, escape and socialisation.
Conclusions: The results show the need for an in-depth analysis of the motivational factors in this group. Models built on the basis of adults are not reflected in older women. For example, the financial motive, typical of addicted gamblers, is dominant among non-addicted female seniors. Qualitative analysis helps to understand this specificity.
A metaphorical expression of the myth of the American Dream, gambling — institutionalized in casinos or illegal in underground circles — soon became a fixture of masculine film genres such as westerns and gangster films. As a rule, gambling movies, regardless of their genre, are male-driven films, leaving only secondary parts to female protagonists who usually fall into three categories: good luck charms/helpers (The Cooler, 21), trouble-makers (Casino, Gilda) or purveyors of moral standards (Rounders, The Cincinnati Kid). Conversely, in gambling films featuring women in lead roles, actors are more likely to embody addicts (The Lady Gambles, Even Money), entrepreneurs/professionals (Atlantic City, Molly’s Game) and — more rarely — professional gamblers (Gambling Lady), thus contesting the masculine hegemony usually at play in this type of film. Through a diachronic approach based on sociological and historical facts, this article proposes to consider how female-driven gambling films may offer a possibility for female lead actors to reclaim the ‘male gaze’ and somehow reestablish a form of gender equality by portraying tough, smart, pragmatic women in a traditionally masculine environment. Achieving the American Dream or wasting their lives to addiction, these women contradict enduring clichés conveyed by Hollywood and informed by the Hays code during the classical era.
Objective
The comorbidity between gambling disorder (GD) and buying-shopping disorder (BSD) has led to explore the core features that could be interacting between them. The main aim of this study was to examine the differences in both conditions considering emotion dysregulation, coping and materialism, as well as the relationship between these variables and their interaction with age and sex.
Methods
A community sample (n = 281 adolescents) and a sample of individuals with GD (n = 31) was compared. Both samples were split into a group with BSD and a group without it.
Results
The prevalence of participants who met the criteria for BSD was higher in the GD sample than in the community sample; the GD sample also presented higher values in the psychological variables studied. In the community sample group, positive associations were found between BSD severity and materialism and emotion dysregulation levels. In the GD sample, BSD severity was higher for participants who reported higher levels in materialism and lower scores in coping strategies. Variables impacted BSD severity differently according to sex and age covariates.
Conclusions
The results of the interaction of the variables could be useful to design prevention and treatment approaches addressed to specific groups of age and sex.
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KEY POINTS
• Buying-shopping disorder (BSD) has been compared in clinical and community samples.
• The clinical sample was constituted by Gambling disorder (GD) patients.
• The variables emotion dysregulation, coping and materialism have been considered.
• Variables impacted BSD severity differently according to sex and age covariates.
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