Reading 1 Themes: Toward the Risk Society

1
Reading 1 Themes Toward the Risk Society

• Gambling is no less a field for the production
  and reproduction of societys unequal power
  relations than any other social activity, and its
  consequences and rewards are, therefore,
  unequally distributed in socially significant
  ways.

2
Firepower and Background

• Gender, ethnicity, social class, and economic
  status, among other variables, interact to
  determine the social and emotional roles that
  contemporary gambling can play in peoples lives.
• Moreover, gambling expansions do not often live
  up to-creation expectations.
• The jobs that are created tend to require less
  education, be lower paid, part-time rather than
  full-time and are employee rather than self
  employee.

3
Rich getting Richer

• Ultimately, the authors proclaim that employees
  will remain marginal, with low control, low
  status, and low pay.
• Adding to this is the fact that some casinos
  flourish in economically deprived conditions, but
  their development does not encourage reciprocal
  development in the marginal environments that
  they colonize so successfully.

4
Gambling, Gamblers, and Demographic Variable

• Traditionally male dominated
• Things beginning to change
• Men engage nearly all forms of gambling
• While, women tend to play bingo /casino style
  (vlts) (starting to change a bit)

5
Young Adults (18 25)

• Young males, more card betting, have higher
  perceived gambling ability, fall victim to the
  illusion of control more regularly
• Young women, more rational, better acuity and
  perceiving their skill.

6
Etiology of Gambling Men and Women

• Women

• Men

• For the thrill / like taking risks
• Associated with alcohol consumption
• Competition
• Ego boost / Hero Complex
• Escape (wont often admit it)
• Increase finances
• Socialization
• Boredom
• Problem onset earlier in life

• Marriage upheaval / residence
• Childhood exposure to gambling
• Lack of social connections
• Exposure to traumas
• Self medication
• Boredom
• Gain intrinsic power / worth / value
• Problem onset later in life

7
Adolescents (10-16)

• Range from social to problem gambling
• Problem gamblers at his age tend to demonstrate
  anti-social traits (delinquency, poor grades and
  attendance, sell drugs, deceptive, use alcohol
  and drugs).
• And it appears that a portion of these youth are
  socially/structurally marginalized/come from
  absent homes (seeking identity).

8
Older adults

• Disposable time / disposable income
• Bored
• Depressed
• To socialize (free food / sights ) meet new
  people
• Dissociate from loss / pain

9
Socioeconomic Status

• Lower income folk spend more of their income on
  gambling
• At risk gamblers likely to have lower income
• These folk also tend to have lower education
  status, live alone, unemployed or unstable
  employment.
• Are they gambling to live good life and seek
  upward mobility?

10
Socioeconomic Status Etiology?

• Its the chicken and egg argument
• We dont know how strong economic status is.
• Is it an effect leading to gambling, a major
  factor / trigger or the CAUSE.
• What do folks think?

11
Ethnicity and Immigration

• Strong link for some to develop a problem
  gambling
• Deal with alienation
• Stress of transition / resettlement /
  dislocation
• Marginalization
• Get lost in chasing the American Dream

12
Comorbidity and Suicide

• Gambling appears to accompany
• Personality disorders (narcissistic / borderline)
  
• Depression
• Alcoholism (13 to 33) higher than general pop.
• High rates of suicide and suicide ideation