Societal Attitudes to Gambling Problems

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Societal Attitudes to Gambling Problems
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What I am interested in

• How does the general public view the nature of
  gambling problems?
• Do people believe that treatment is necessary in
  order to fix gambling problems?
• Do people believe that a problem gambler needs to
  stop gambling in order to fix their problem?

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Methods

• Questions were added to the beginning of a
  general population survey exploring barriers to
  treatment for gambling problems (N
  8,467).
• Non-gamblers were compared to social gamblers and
  problem gamblers on these questions.
• Conceptions of gambling problems were related to
  beliefs about need for treatment and abstinence.

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Questions asked

• Problem gambling best seen as a form of
• Disease or illness
• Wrongdoing
• Habit (not disease)
• Addiction similar to drug addiction
• Response options for each conception ranged from
  strongly agree to strongly disagree.

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Questions asked

• Do you think it is possible for people who have
  gambling problems to fix it on their own, without
  getting any treatment?
• Do you think it is possible for people who have
  gambling problems to reduce their gambling to
  that of a social gambler or do they need to quit
  all together?

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Results all respondents

• Strongly agreed that problem gambling best seen
  as a form of
• 38 Disease or illness
• 16 Wrongdoing
• 32 Habit (not disease)
• 56 Addiction similar to drug addiction

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Results all respondents

• 53 agreed treatment was needed in order to fix a
  gambling problem.
• 71 agreed a person needs to quit gambling
  altogether in order to solve a gambling problem.

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Comparing gamblers and non-gamblers
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Comparing gamblers and non-gamblers
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Comparing gambler groups
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Assumptions

• Societal attitudes reflect how people behave
  towards problem gamblers.
• Societal attitudes can be altered.
• If societal attitudes are changed then problem
  gamblers will have more success in dealing with
  their problem.
• We know how to change societal attitudes.
• We know how we want to improve conditions for
  problem gamblers.