Gambling harms, stigmatisation and discrimination: A qualitative naturalistic forum analysis PLOS One

This quotation not only demonstrates that Ppt 34 and their wife consider gambling harm to be an illness, but that they were encouraged to think this way by a gambling support provider. This implies that if gambling is framed as an illness rather than a choice, that there is absolution of blame for the individual, which can be beneficial. However, considering it as something which one will “always be recovering from” could also diminish hope, as some people who described it in this way consequently felt as though they had no chance of getting better or ‘recovering’ completely. Stigma has been defined as an attribute that is significantly discrediting or discreditable, especially in the context of relationships 1.

Blame is more frequent in Western culture, while shame is more frequent in Eastern culture (Cozens, 2018; Zhai, 2022). This could be because, compared to Western culture, Chinese society, for example, is a collectivist culture, where the needs of the group have a higher priority than those of the individual. First, the relationship between gambling severity, blame and shame, emotion regulation and gambling motives was assessed through Pearson’s r. Second, after bivariate relationships were verified between the variables, a mediation analysis was conducted to analyse how the independent variable X (gambling severity) affects the dependent variable Y (shame) through mediator M (emotion regulation). The analysis was conducted by using bootstrapping, which is an adequate technique for multiple mediation models and can be used in small and moderate samples (Preacher & Hayes, 2008).

Recent studies indicate that the manipulation of certain factors, but not others, influences stigmatizing attitudes related to gambling disorder. Whether and how gambling problems are labeled (e.g., “gambling disorder”) has been shown to have little effect on people’s beliefs and attitudes. Manipulation of causal beliefs, such as by emphasizing genetic explanations of gambling disorder, may have both desired and undesired effects, such as decreasing blame attributed to individuals with gambling disorder but also decreasing beliefs in their ability to recover. Likewise, preliminary evidence indicates that contact-, education-, and advocacy-based strategies have varied effects on stigma of gambling disorder. Whereas these strategies have been shown to be effective in reducing aspects of mental illness related stigma in the broader literature, a contact-based intervention for gambling disorder was shown to have both favorable and unfavorable effects on stigma-related variables. There is a need for more research to better understand the mechanisms that underlie the stigma of gambling disorder and how those mechanisms are affected by different intervention strategies.

Perceived social stigmatisation of gambling disorders and coping with stigma

Addressing the shame and stigma of problem gambling is essential in promoting successful recovery outcomes. Raising awareness and challenging misconceptions can create a more supportive and inclusive environment for all recovering gamblers. The qualitative analysis was conducted on both semantic and latent levels to comprehensively understand the data. At the semantic level, the focus was on the explicit content of the text, examining the surface meanings and identifying clear patterns, themes, and categories based on the direct responses and observable details. This involved coding the data to capture precise words, phrases, and concepts articulated by the participants.

• Finally, differences in the study variables were analysed according to sample type (Table 3).
• The online assessment in educational settings was conducted in classrooms that included computers.
• Now with improvements in artificial intelligence, we will likely see even more strategies for getting people to gamble more.
• With therapy, supportive relationships, and a commitment to resilience, those affected by gambling addiction can reclaim their lives and move toward a future defined by self-worth, not shame.
• Raising awareness and challenging misconceptions can create a more supportive and inclusive environment for all recovering gamblers.
• These data suggest that more intensive interventions or repeated doses (i.e., “boosters”) may be needed to sustain benefits and point to the need for assessment of long-term and behavioral effects in stigma reduction research.

“It’s hard for non-gamblers not to pass judgement about the things that we, as gamblers, have done” (Ppt 60). Thematic Analysis (TA; 43) was identified as the most appropriate analytic approach as it allows flexible, data-driven analysis, rather than one tied to a specific theoretical framework, which encourages a structured approach to analysis 46. Thematic analysis allows for a good overview and summary of a large amount of data and has the potential to generate “unexpected insights” which is useful for understudied areas such as the focus here 47. The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

It appears that people with gambling disorder do not experience stigma as long as it does not cause too many negative consequences for the player, their family and society as a whole. Holdsworth et al. (2013) found that the disruption to the lives of people with gambling disorder and to their families contributes to its public stigmatisation. While in the Victorian Adult Survey, the damage caused by problem gambling was described at the individual level (Hing, Russell, Nuske, & Gainsbury, 2015), this study’s respondents rather considered that on the social level.

As respondents pointed out, it is a common perception that a gambling disorder is related to personal weakness and propensity to hedonism. In the case of gambling disorder, a strong will and motivation to change should be enough to get rid of the “unpleasant habit”. In this sense, people with gambling disorder are judged more negatively than people with substance use disorder. Purposive sampling procedures were employed with the aim of gaining complete and comprehensive information from the research question perspective. When it came to the professionals, employment status in the gambling treatment facilities, along with their profession, determined their participation.

Data analysis

Four separate models were examined by using the macro INDIRECT for SPSS (Preacher & Hayes, 2008); shame now and shame in 2 weeks, and blame now and blame in 2 weeks. First, the significance of the effect of the independent variable on the mediator variables (a-path) and the effect of mediator variables on the dependent variable (b-path) was tested. Then, the total effect of X on Y along with the mediator variables (c-path) and the direct effect of X on Y while controlling for the effect of mediator variables (c’-path) were measured. Second, the indirect effect of the mediator variables was measured by bootstrapping with a sample of 5000 bootstraps, and the indirect effect of each mediator variable on the relationship between X and Y was analysed. The indirect effect is considered significant if 95% of the confidence intervals (CI) of the bootstraps do not include the zero—that is, if both the https://gullybetofficial.com/ lower (LLCI) and the upper (ULCI) CI of the measured variable are higher or lower than zero.

Participants

A systematic review that focused on studies with a follow-up of more than 4 weeks concluded that effects on stigmatizing attitudes were small and inconsistent and did not find evidence for the superiority of social contact-based interventions 43. A study of the long-term effects of a filmed social contact intervention found that improvements on mental health knowledge and behavioral intentions were largest 1 month after the intervention and declined over the 24-month follow-up 67. Moreover, there were no effects of the social contact intervention relative to online self-study and non-active control conditions on actual behavior at any assessment point. These data suggest that more intensive interventions or repeated doses (i.e., “boosters”) may be needed to sustain benefits and point to the need for assessment of long-term and behavioral effects in stigma reduction research. Although distinct constructs, the existence of public stigma directly affects perceptions of stigma.

In turn, when affected individuals perceive the stigmatizing attitudes held by society towards their condition, they may develop self-stigma, characterized by the internalization of those attitudes and belief in negative stereotypes about themselves 10, 12. The development of self-stigma is one of the major harms of public stigma of mental health problems, as self-stigma among affected individuals can erode self-esteem and self-efficacy, lead to social withdrawal, and reduce help-seeking and engagement in treatment 13, 40. Stigmatised individuals may try to reduce the negative consequences of possessing stigmatising attributes by employing a variety of coping strategies.

Rather than going to a casino or going to a convenience store to buy a lottery ticket, you now can make wagers by simply pressing buttons on your phone. Gambling harm included stress, borrowing money, skipping meals or selling things to fund gambling. Jordan Wayne, a psychology graduate from the University of Hertfordshire, has a keen interest in the fields of mental health, wellness, and lifestyle. Resilience isn’t about never experiencing setbacks; it’s about having the tools to rise after each one. Developing resilience through skill-building can help maintain progress and foster self-confidence, reducing the need to gamble as a coping mechanism.

Koenig (2009) argued that less stigma is applied to wealthy people who engage in excessive gambling as they are better able to sustain their losses. All elements constituting the stigma-creation process (Link et al., 2004) were reflected in respondents’ statements. According to these, people with gambling disorder can avoid stigma as long as their problem is not obvious to others and they will not be labelled. Once labelled, the stereotypes regarding the social group to which an individual is perceived to belong are applied.