Literature Review On Pathological Gambling

Up to 90% of adults in Australia have gambled at some point in their life.more statistics The promises made, were lies, and the same errors relapsed over and over again.We will be waiting when you can tell yourself there’s so much more to life than just gambling.We will be waiting for you gamblers to take a step back and think about the love ones whom you are destroying, but when will this happen? and will it not re- occur?. We now so well the difficulties in limiting money and/or time spent on gambling, which leads to adverse consequences for the gambler, their family or friends and for the community. The latest research suggests that about one per cent of the population has a gambling problem. These ranges from increasing levels of debt,

Gambling can be done at a casino, racetrack, or online. Compulsive gambling addiction can lead to criminal behaviors. There are several phases in gambling. The winning phase lead gamblers to win several winnings, which leads them to believe that they will keep winning. The loosing phase often begins with bragging about their past wins and start gambling alone and begin to borrow money. The loosing phase leads to debts. The desperation phase can lead to suicidal thoughts, arrests, divorce and alcohol and drug abuse.

There are many different forms of gambling. Whether one is betting on a lottery ticket, a horse race, a sports game, or slot machines, to name a few, they are spending money with unfavourable odds of winning that money back. Many people cannot control when they walk away from gambling, as they will continue to bet in an attempt to win back the lost money. The issue is - for the most part - that the losses continue to increase. In Victoria, in the fiscal year of 2000-01, gamblers lost a total of $14.38 billion, including $2.36 billion on the leading cause of losses, poker machines (11). This can result in problem gambling. Based on different surveys in Canada, it is estimated that approximately 1 in 20 Canadians either have a gambling problem, or are at serious risk of obtaining one. 1 in 20 Canadians adds up to 760,800 problem gamblers (12). In the US, an estimated 3 million people are problem gamblers, and another 15 million are at risk of developing gambling problems (13). Problem gambling would not be as severe of an issue if it only harmed the gambler themselves, as it is their choice to gamble and displays a only a lack of self control. The issue is that people are indirectly affected by problem gambling. It can result in problems with personal relationships, neglect of ones family, bankruptcy, and stress related disorders such as depression, or insomnia (14). Problem gambling also has a positive correlation with crime. This means that the more problem gamblers there are, the more crimes are being committed. Statistics from a published survey show that only 3.3% of responsible, low frequency gamblers have been convicted of committing a crime, while a staggering 28.3% of problem gamblers have been convicted at least once (15). These numbers show that problem gamblers do not only harm themselves, but the consequences have a continuous ripple effect,

This study was done on 150 people seeking treatment for drug problems, and found that 32 of the participants were pathological gamblers, 19 were problem gamblers, and the remaining 96 were social gamblers. Among the studied pathological gamblers, 56.3% were seeking treatment for cocaine use, and 25% were seeking treatment for alcohol. One of the prevalent findings in this study was the rate of suicidal thoughts or actions; 26 out of the 32 pathological gamblers (81.3%) had reported serious thoughts of suicide, and 12 (37.5%) had actually attempted suicide at least once. It was also found that, on average, most of the pathological gamblers started gambling before they started using

According to national surveys, 73% of British adults wagered on gambling activities (including National Lottery) in 2010 [2]. In some instances, this behaviour can become problematic and is characterised by persistent gambling that precedes gambling-related harms [6]. Whilst personal accounts of disordered gambling behaviour and harms related to specific gambling products have garnered a large amount of media exposure and research interest in the UK, the provision and understanding of treatment-seeking behaviour has received less attention. Conservative estimates indicate that approximately 1% of the UK population report gambling behaviour that warrants a diagnosis of either pathological gambling (ICD-10, [7]) or gambling disorder (DSM-5, [5])

“The state Department of Health and Mental Hygiene conducted a study before the first Maryland casino opened in 2010, and published it in 2011. They found that nearly 90 percent of Marylanders had gambled, and that 3.4 percent were either pathological gamblers or problem gamblers.” (Massimo) There has been numerous stories of addicted gamblers in debt, gamblers that have lost family and friends from their addictions. There was a man $400,000 in debt, his wife threw him out of the house and told him he could not see his kids again unless he gave up gambling. Also, another gambler went on a 48 hour binge without sleeping and barely eating. A woman faced a jail term for stealing $135,000 to feed her gambling

In 2011, Nady el-Guebaly, Tanya Mudry, Joseph Zohar, Hermano Tavares, and Marc Potenza aimed to use DSM-V to describe an emerging focus on addiction and compulsion factors in the research of pathological gambling (PG). They examined the possible overlying of addiction and compulsivity relative to PG, substance use disorders (SUDs), and obsessive compulsive disorders (OCD), and treatment suggestions. To collect data, they conducted a meticulous literature review of existing evidence for the recommended reclassification of pathological gambling as an addiction. From their results, it was concluded that PG is more like SUDs than OCD. Also, although addictions and OCD share certain similarities, they are neurobiologically different, have lower comorbidity frequencies, and responds differently to treatments. Regarding recognized behavioral addictions, pathological gambling seems to be the only disorder with sufficient evidence for it to be progressed into classifying as an

Relating to the issue of subgroups, pathological gambling was originally classified as an impulse control disorder by the DSM-IV-TR (APA, 2000), though, based on its criteria similar to substance dependence, some researchers preferred to consider it a behavioural addiction (Blanco et al., 2001; Potenza et al., 2002). Goudriaan et al. (2006) provide a similar argument, stating that pathological gambling and alcohol dependence share common EF deficits, and it has since been amended to be a behavioural addiction the in the DSM-V (APA, 2013). The divisive topic of screening and diagnosis could have serious consequences on the quality of care, or form of therapy, a pathological gambler may receive or decide to enter. Whether they legitimately

In 2013, the release of the updated Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) added gambling disorder to the category titled Substance-Related and Addictive Disorders. (The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 2013) In the previous edition of the DSM, gambling, along with other behavioral addictions were in the Impulse Control Disorders category of the DSM-III and DSM-IV (Clark, 2014). Behavioral Addictions are said to be around for hundreds of years. For example, gambling was part of daily life in ancient Greece. (Hekster, 2002). In the first edition of American Psychiatric Association in 1812, there was detailed mention of excessive sexual desire (Rush, 1812). Yet, behavioral

RCP also suggest that a person is more predisposed to becoming addicted to gambling if someone else in the family – particularly a parent is or has been a problem gambler. This can be partly due to learnt behaviour – by seeing a parent gamble or having been taught to gamble by them, the child will feel that this activity is acceptable and a family activity. Often children are taken to dog or horse racing and encouraged to have a bet. This early initiation into gambling will mean that the symptoms of euphoria and excitement of the activity will be embedded at an early age. Another group of people who are more likely to become addicted to gambling are those who are already dependent or alcohol or illegal drugs and thus are already presenting as having an addictive personalities. It is interesting to note the location of many bookmakers in relation to pubs and social clubs in city centres and housing estates.

(2006) assigned participants into one of the following groups: (a) a referral to Gamblers Anonymous, (b) a cognitive behavioral workbook, and (c) 8 sessions of individual cognitive behavioral therapy. The participants for the study consisted of a total of 231 pathological gamblers. The results, like Sylvain et al., (1997), found cognitive behavioral therapy to increase abstinence from gambling behaviors. The study found individual cognitive behavioral therapy sessions lead to more progress than the group which only received the cognitive behavioral workbook. The group receiving cognitive behavioral therapy sessions also was shown to reduce gambling more than those who went to gamblers anonymous (Petry et at.,

Despite the fact that there is only a vague understanding of the way gambling behaviors progress, chronic gambling is viewed as a compulsive, progressive disorder. Recent studies suggest that the behavioral aspect of gambling is comparable to other addictive habits such as alcoholism, drug addiction, and tobacco use. Due to the comparison to other deviant behaviors, there is a significant level of stigma attached to gambling. The data suggests the onset of behavior results from low socioeconomic status, socio-cultural factors, environmental aspects, and parental gambling elements that led to the introduction of gambling and hinder treatment and recovery seeking behavior.

     Gambling addiction is an issue found in numerous areas where gambling is legal. People who are addicted to gambling, also know as problem gamblers, face many health risks including depression, suicidal thoughts, loss of sleep, loss of appetite, migraine and anxiety in addition to marriage breakdown, problems at work and bankruptcy (9). About 2 percent of adults are thought to be problem gamblers (1). In today’s society this costly addiction is not often considered to be a common problem among those who gamble. Only a small amount of states in the U.S. give enough attention toward this rising problem of people that are sometimes even willing to commit crimes just to aid their addiction. In the past our

Lobsinger, C and Beckett, L and Fittell, L (1995). Working with Excessive Gambling. Relationships Australia (QLD) Inc.

Like an alcohol or drug addiction, pathological gambling is a long-term disorder that tends to get worse without treatment. Even with treatment, it can be quite common to