problem gambling

What is problem pathological gambling?

- not really a disease because you can change the course of it. Very popular amongst people in treatment. It not appropriate to call any addiction a disease. Treatment support groups, make people better, the ways to do so- the addict needs to acknowledge they have a problem and that it is a legitimate thing. Although it is not directly applied to the strong belief of disease, the total absence is what will help treat the problem. how do we define the concept itself: What is problem/ pathological gambling? A Need for something - if you do not get it there is suffering ( this is seen with coffee, insulin) - if that's the case then diabetics would be considered an addict. All consuming behavior love; being involved in a project you really enjoy, professional gambler Total loss of voluntary control ( all addictions there is some voluntary control there, it is just impaired control) Seizures, tics, hiccups Problem for the person ( key part of an addiction- could be financial or psychological) CORE ELEMENT Single time problem ( must be repetitive): problems for the family

Measurement : old instruments

Canadian problem gambing index • scores 3-7 for moderate problem gambling • scores of 8+ for severe problem gambling • Diagnostic and Statisitcal Manual of Mental Disorders ( 4th edition) • scores for 5+ for pathological scoring • distinguished from compulsive behaviour in DSM in that person derives pleasure from the action (cf. anger control, obsessive-compulsive behaviour, trichotillomania, skin picking) • • South Oaks Gambling Screen • scores of 3- 4 for problem gambling • scores of 5+ for pathological gambling

Type of Gambling -related problems

Money problems • relationship problems ( a lot of problem gamblers are single) • psychological problems ( anxiety, stress, depression ) • work problems • school problems • legal problems - 7% of problem gamblers commit crime to support their gambling ( small proportion will commit crime, or get arrested) • health problems- they have more psychosomatic problems associated with the problem gambling. ( headaches, ulcers, depression) • Las Vegas has had the highest suicide rate in the U.S. for many years ( which is why most of their hotels have no balconies) - residence of Nevada. It may have to do with the people that choose to live there.

Prevalence

Pattern: discussion on the pattern of prevalence • Germany has a unique system • 3 of the 4 high gambling rates are Asian jurisdictions. Asians tend to have a lower rate of addictions generally, but highest rates of gambling because it is so apart of their culture. • South Africa- leading lace in the world of crime, murder. It is a dysfunctional society. ( white class and the large mass of underprivileged people) social problems link to stress and is linked to gambling rates.

Signs and symptoms of Problem gambling

Preoccupied with gambling • "chasing" losses • difficulty cutting back or stopping • irritable when trying to cut back or stop • looking at a MRI addict- they reward centers are heightened but you cannot tell if they are a sex addict of a gambling addict. Physiological evidence that your brain requires that fix. • lying to hide involvement with gambling • gambling to escape from problems and bad moods • committing illegal acts to pay for gambling • relying on others to "bail you out" of gambling debts • gambling with increasing amounts of money to get the same excitem

Measurement: New instruments

Problem and pathological gambling Measure ( 2010) • Several advantages

correlates of problem gambling

antisocial traits • gambling fallacies

Gambling Fallacies

error #1 Normalizing your behavior • when people try to figure out how common something is they think of people they know • you underestimate family income because most people you know makes less than $60,000 a year • you underestimated the % of adults who don't use any alcohol because most of your friends have • heavy gamblers overestimate the number of people who gamble • error # 2 Judgment how frequent something is by now memorable it is • you thought that more people died from accidents because accidental deaths are often reported on the news • the big wins are more memorable than the losses • error # 3 Superstitious behavior • gamblers mistakenly believe they can influence the likelihood of winning by repeating the same things that were associated with winning in the past. • error # 4 Ignoring the odds • they think they can win money gambling, ignoring the fact that the odds are always against them. ex. People by lottery tickets despite they know of the odds are against them • error # 5 forgetting about the law of averages • the more times something happens the closer the result will be to the expected average • problem with gamblers is that they think that if they continue to go more they will make up for their losses. They are focusing on the short winning streaks, failing to acknowledge their overall results. • error# 2 Random events are not influenced by past history • its human nature to look for patterns even though it does not exist. • there is almost nothing in nature that is pattern • gambling games exploit this tendency • gamblers sometimes continue to play because they believe their current losing streak must be followed with a winning streak and they believe they are on a roll and need to continue while their luck holds. • Error # 7 The influence of early experience and occasional reward • Someone who wins five dollars will continue playing • most problem gamblers 'unfortunately' have had a big win early on • the occasional small wins they get after that keeps them playing in hope of having a big win again • error #8 taking credit for success and blaming failure on other things • most people take credit for their success and blame failure to things beyond their control • gamblers often fool themselves into thinking that their wins are due to their skill at gambling, whereas their losses are just due to bad luck • error # 9 tendency to confirm rather than disconfirm our beliefs • when people have a belief about something they tend to seek evidence that confirms rather than disconfirms their beliefs. Futhurmore, when they hear evidence on the subject the tend to give much greater weight to confirming evidence. In addition, the amount of the evidence and effort required to change a strongly held belief is much greater than it ought to be • gamblers are constantly confirming all the previous mentioned gambling fallacies, and it is extremely difficult to change their opinions about these fallacies. • error # 10 money does not solve all problems • rich people are no happier, on average, than middle class people • people who win the lottery tend to be very happy for the first year and then return to previous level of happiness • gamblers mistakenly believe that many of their problems will be solved if they strike it rich

Recreational or social gambler :

gamble occasionally, rather than regularly gamble with small amounts of money they can afford to lose gamble for fun or to socialize without any serious expectation of winning money understand that when betting against the 'house' it is impossible to win in the long run don't hide their gambling from other people are not preoccupied with gambling don't have any gambling misconceptions have no difficulties stopping when they should don't experience any psychological or financial problems because of their occasional gambling

Problem gambler

someone whose difficulties limiting their gambling behavior has caused a significant problem or problems for the person or someone in the persons immediate social network pathological gambler- severe AKA compulsive

who is at most risk of becoming a problem gambler?

trauma • parents- genetic and exposure • age and gender ( ages 18-25 highest rate of gambling addiction in western cultures) more males ( they take more risks than females) • peer group- social relations • ethnicity - asians and first nations stand out • impulsive people • availability • cultural acceptability • mental health problems - if you have depression or anxiety already then you are predisposed to addictions already • having a big win early on • gambling serving as a psychological need