Gambling as a Social Problem - Coursework Example

Gambling as a Social Problem INTRODUCTION Everyone dreams of winning the lottery one day and for most people it is just a fun daydream. For others it becomes an addiction that is difficult to control and can often cost them their lives. Gambling is a social problem that plagues about 3.6% of the population on any given day. Technically it falls under the category of "process addiction" because it is not drugs or alcohol. Gambling is also accepted in most societies as a fun activity so it is not thought of as a problem like alcohol or other drugs. Instead, gambling is encouraged in our society. The basic reason I chose to do gambling is because of the way our society treats it. I thought it would be interesting to look at it from the standpoint of a social illness and because there are so many ways that our society has to gamble. I wanted to investigate why people enjoy the atmosphere of gambling and why some people are open to addiction and others are not. This paper will be an overview of this behavior, how it has created social problems and what society or communities are doing to help those with this addiction. GAMBLING AND ADDICTION Gambling is a national past time for many countries because it is thrilling for people to go to a casino and play. They can play the slot machines or play tables of games that are fun and entertaining. From the moment a person walks into a casino they are greeted with a spectacular show. There are no clocks around so it becomes a timeless event. There is free food and drink to people who are playing the tables. There are also amazing shows with show girls and boys who help to create the atmosphere around the casino. In this environment most people thrive because it is fun and they can try new tables from time to time. There are people who actually win and others who lose, but that is the way of it in a casino. Casinos are profitable for management because more people lose than win. A person will occasionally win a jackpot but other times there are small wins. Centered inside the casino are a variety of people who come and go. Some come because they are vacationing in the area while others come because they are locals and like to play the slots (slot machines). Further into the casino though there are a sad few people who go because they have no other choice. They came to the casino with a mission but once there became too involved in the glamour, glitz and need to win money. Although casinos are the focus for this paper, this is not the only place that people addicted to gambling show up. They are also present online making bets at online betting palaces, making investments in the stock market or buying several tickets for a raffle. The point is that when someone is addicted to gambling it does not matter where they go to play, just that the play. Many people are unaware of the fact that they are compulsive gamblers. They just know they love the thrill of the game of change and they think that although they lose much of the time, the next big win is just around the corner. Definition of Pathological Gambling According to the CBC, ("Betting" 2003) "…wealthier people, on average, spend more money on wagering. But gamblers who have less money spend a larger percentage of their income on gaming activities." This means that many people that are found a the slot machines, bingo halls or lottery lines are low to middle income people who may be attempting to win money to pay bills. Statistics Canada (as quoted in "Betting" 2003) states that 6.3% of gamblers are thought to have a problem. They define a problem gambler as "someone who has experienced negative consequences of gaming and who gambles more than five times a year" (as quoted in "Betting" 2003). The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Forth Edition (DSM-IV) classifies "pathological gambling" as an "Impulse-control disorders not other wise classified." (p. 614). To be diagnosed as a pathological gambler, an individual must have s "persistent and recurrent" gambling behavior that meets five or more maladaptive behaviors: 1. Preoccupied with gambling activities all of the time. 2. Uses increasing amounts of money to gamble with to get to a level of excitement. 3. Is unsuccessful when they try to stop or slow down their gambling. 4. Gets restless or irritated when they try to slow the gambling down. 5. Uses gambling to escape from problems or feelings of "helplessness, guilt, anxiety or depression". 6. Loses money and then returns to try and break even. 7. Lies to family and others about the extent of their gambling. 8. Steals, forges, embezzles or does other illegal activities to get money for gambling. 9. Has jeopardized relationships, lost jobs or lost other types of opportunities because of gambling. 10. Goes to other people to borrow money that he needs to cover "desperate financial situations" that happen because of their gambling. (DSM-IV, 1996, p. 618). Pathological gambling is a problem that knows no boundaries. It can happen to anyone at any time and it affects men, women and sometimes teenagers. PREVELENCE PATHOLOGICAL GAMBLING IN CANADA Lepage, Ladouceur and Jacques (2000) agree with many other researchers that gambling happens because our society has so many opportunities for people to gamble. They say that pathological gamblers become involved with gambling on a deeply emotional level which makes them lose control of their entire life, including family, friends and other relationships (Lepage, et. al. p. 597). They studied the prevalence of gambling among the homeless who attend some form of community service. They found that many homeless people use their pensions or other income to bid on video gaming so they set up a project to see how this related to the statistics on gaming. They found interesting statistics when they interviewed the participants. They fond that most people who had a problem with gambling or who were experiencing some of the behaviors of pathological gamblers had started gambling before the age of 18 with cards or the slot machines. This study was done to find the prevalence of people who gambled in community programs and they found that there were more people who did gamble and who had problems than what was originally reported. Cox, Yu, Affi and Ladouceur (2005) found that at least 2% of Canadians had a gambling addiction. They studied 30,000 people across all provinces. Many researchers state that it is difficult to understand the prevalence of pathological gambling because it is an addiction that can be hidden. Unlike alcohol or drugs a person who has problems with gambling does not have any visible signs until it becomes a very chronic situation. In the initial stages and as it grows the gambler can act as though they are just having fun. Their families do not know what is going on until it becomes such a problem that they have to find a way to intervene. PATHOLOGICAL GAMBLING AS A SOCIAL CONDITION Many researchers suspect that society has caused people to have problems with gambling. They think that it happens because of the availability of various forms of gambling and that some people are just unable to deal with so much opportunity. Many think that there are many individuals who are using gambling to escape from their everyday problems or because they just became caught up in the thrill of the moment and the glitz and glitter of the various types of gambling. There are also gender differences in the way that people are showing symptoms. As an example, Boughton and Falenchuk (2007) studied women and their gambling behaviors. Although it is not surprising they found that women and men tended to do different activities for gambling and that the way women played machines was different than the way men played (p.2). Those people who are pathological gamblers also influence the world around them. Men and women have lost their families or parts of them, love relationships, jobs and friends because they made the gambling more important than all of these situations. Some commit crimes and are incarcerated for these crimes which creates more problems for the society at large. According to the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry (2005) states that pathological gambling can: "give rise to mental conflict, family problems, uncontrolled spending, multiple addictions and alcohol and drug abuse, and can increase the risk of suicide." (as quoted in CMAJ 2005). The Center for Addiction and Mental Health (2005) states that some people are so addicted that they cannot stop and say they "cant give up on all the time, money and emotion" that they have already put into their gambling (p. 17). However, the impact on the family is greatest because it causes health problems for family members, stress and can drive young children to withdraw and stop believing in parents who do not keep promises. CONCLUSION: TREATMENT FOR PATHOLOGICAL GAMBLING Pathological gambling is both a behavioral addiction and a psychological one. There are a variety of websites that people can go to in order to find out more information about the problem and how to find treatment. There are also programs like Gamblers Anonymous and hotlines set up in every province. Counseling is also available for those who will use it. Codman and Burroughs (2005) suggest that Cognitive Behavioral Therapy may be the best option to treat pathological gamblers although they admit that there is no single way to treat them. They suggest that many gamblers have had help thought In-vivo desensitization where the therapist and the client go to the environment of the gamblers choice and then he/she is encouraged not to gamble (p. 3). According to Center for Addiction and Mental Health (2005) the Canadian Government has set aside some funding that they receive from the slot machines that are at racetracks and charity casinos to assist people with gambling problems by setting up "a problem gambling hotline, free counseling for people with gambling problems, education about gambling for the public and for mental health professionals, and free counseling for family members" (p. 23). Ladouceur and Shaffer (2005) state that treating pathological gambling is just beginning (at least at the time of their work) and that there are man avenues that mental health practitioners need to work with in order to help this group. Like any other addiction treatment can be difficult for pathological gambling because there is so much opportunity and each individual needs to be able to understand that they need to stop gambling. Some do not see this as a problem although they may have lost everything that was of value to them. Many people are at risk for becoming pathological gamblers but they have not identified gambling as their problem. According to the Center for Addiction and Mental Health (2005) the risk factors for pathological gambling that may make an individual turn to gambling. These risk factors include: The individual had a big win early in their gambling history. They have money problems. They have had a recent loss or change, such as relationship problems, divorce, job loss, retirement or the death of a loved one They gamble to cope with a health problem. They often feel depressed or lonely. (p. 14-15). Basically this means that as stated before, anyone can be lured into pathological gambling. Researching this area was eye opening because this researcher had not thought about all the situations an individual can get into who has problems with gambling. As some of the researchers said it is difficult to fathom that this could be as serious an addiction as drugs or alcohol. It occurred to me that people who are addicted should have treatment but many would be embarrassed to try and get the help they need. There also seems to be a large part of the population who may not have been able to seek treatment because they do not identify that they have the problem. Gambling addiction seems to be a chronic condition and unfortunately there is no real way to stop it. Although there is treatment available it seems that it would be difficult for a person to stop gambling since there is so much opportunity. I think it says something about our society when these types of things occur and we do not seem to care about really putting in some help for these unfortunate people. Annotated Bibliography American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Fourth Edition. 1994. p. 615-618. Betting the farm: an overview of gambling addiction (2003, November 18). Indepth: Gambling. CBC News Online. Retrieved November 1, 2008 from http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/gambling/addiction.html. CBC News did a thorough examination of the facts of compulsive gambling in Canada showing the prevalence of gambling and how it affects Canadians. It describes the addiction process and people who are at risk for compulsive gambling as well as the symptoms that are usually seen. This article gives a basic understanding of gambling as an addiction what reliable statistics and Boughton, R. and Falenchuk, O. (2007). Vulnerability and comorbidity factors of female problem gambling. Journal of Gambling Studies, 23(3), 323-334. Retrieved November 2, 2008, from ProQuest Database (Document ID: 1297023251). The authors conducted a mail-in survey of 365 women to look at their gambling behaviors as they applied to their family and personal histories. They were looking for "comorbid psychological disorders" that may be present when a person has a problem with gambling. They were specifically interested in the rates that these women experienced depression, alcoholism, anxiety, overspending or criminal activity. This gave a background for females who gamble to add to the information in the research. Center for Addiction and Mental Health (2005). Problem gambling: The issues, the options. Retrieved November 1, 2008 from http://www.problemgambling.ca/ EN/Documents/Issues%20Options%202006.pdf. This is a very thorough report about gambling as a social problem and it gives details about the course of how it works in Canada. The Canadian government has put this together as a guide to people who have problems as well as to those who live with them. The report also defines problem gambling and gives solutions as to what a person can do and resources they can use. This presented information that corresponds to what casino gambling does for people and how it hurts families. CMAJ Online. (2005). Problem gambling "like a new disease." 173 (1) 21. Retrieved November 2, 2008 from http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/reprint/173/1/21. This is a short article that talks about a new study that tells more about pathological gamblers. It asks doctors to start looking deeper into the signs for gambling addiction and it identifies some of the social problems that people have who are addicted. This adds to the social aspects of problem gambling. Coman, G., Evans, B., & Burrows, G. (2005, February). An innovative cognitive strategy to assist problem gamblers. British Journal of Guidance & Counselling, 33(1), 129-140. Retrieved November 2, 2008, PsyArticles Database (AN: 2005-04150- 010). Cognitive behavioral therapy is a process that works well for gambling addiction according to the authors. This type of therapy works well in helping them identify the problems they are having and take steps to stop it from having such a hold on their lives. The authors provide step-by-step guidance as to how this works for clinicians. This was an important piece for the research because a research strategies were needed to end the paper. This information makes a good strategy for people with gambling addiction. Cox, B. J., Yu, N., Afifi, T. O. and Ladouceur, Robert. (2005) A national survey of gambling problems in Canada. Can J Psychiatry, 50(4), 213-217. Retrieved November 1, 2008 from http://ww1.cpa-apc.org:8080/Publications /Archives/CJP/2005/march2/cjp-mar2-05-Cox-OR.pdf. The authors studied gaming activities and pathological gambling across the 10 providences of Canada to see how many Canadians actually were addicted. They studied information using the Canadian Problem Gambling Index. This study pointed out that there are problems with attempting to find exactly the amount of people who are having problems with gambling. This added to the statistics of this writers paper. Ladouceur, Robert and Shaffer, H. J. (2005). Treating problem gamblers: working towards empirically supported treatment. Journal of Gambling Studies, 21(1), 1- 4. Retrieved November 2, 2008, ProQuest Database (Document ID: 815887731). The authors outline information found from a "scientific meeting" that was held in Quebec to discuss the urgent need for practitioners in the mental health field to be able to find effective treatment for individuals addicted to gambling. They have outlined the key issues that anyone working with this population will have to address. In the area of research for this authors research it was important to look at all sides of gambling and bring out the key issues that relate to it. Lepage, Claudine, Ladouceur, Robert and Jacques, Christian. (2000). Prevalence of problem gambling among community service users. Community Mental Health Journal, 36(6), 597-601. Retrieved November 2, 2008, from ProQuest Database (Document ID: 63027535). The Daily. (12 December 2003). Problem gambling. Retrieved November 1, 2008 from http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/031212/d031212c.htm. The Daily reported a large volume of statistics in this article that was very well documented. It presented statistics from 1996 to the current problems with gambling. It showed that the incidences of gambling addiction have grown over the years and the effects it has had on those who gamble. Read More