Compulsive Gambling Flashcards
Compulsive Gambling
A chronic and progressive failure
to resist the impulse to gamble
Gambling
- Majority of Americans participate in some form of gambling
- Gambling origins in religious rituals
Social Gamblers
- No self-value is tied to winning or losing
- Other aspects of life are important and
rewarding - A “big win” is rarely experienced
Pathological Gambling
1. 1st introduced as diagnosable mental disorder in 1980 (DSM-III) 2. Classified as a disorder of impulse control 3. Definition: a chronic and progressive failure to resist impulse to gamble 4. Synonymous with compulsive gambling 5. Intoxicication=winning •“The Action” • Stimulation-Euphoria • Pain and Stress Relieving • Tranquilizing
Withdrawl
-Losing • Stress & Tension • Inadequacy & Unimportance • Loss of Self-Esteem • Loss of Control
Characteristics of Pathological Gamblers
A. Workaholic-like
B. Risk Takers
1. Attracted to stimulating situations
2. Boredom not tolerated
Demographics & Incidence
Average onset from gambling to loss of control: 5 years
Winning Phase
- Gambling begins with small bets, usually in adolescence; mostly male
- Gambler’s luck is replaced by skillful betting
- Winning leads to more and more excitement
- Gambler’s play more frequent and for higher stakes
- Pathological gambler begins to believe he is an exceptional better
- Big win occurs
Losing Phase
- Begins to gamble alone
- Amount bet escalates
- Losing streak develops
- “Chase”
- Irrational optimism
- Legal borrowing
- Impairment in social & occupational
functioning - Major debt, partial confession & bail out
Desperation Phase
- More bailouts
- All of losing phase is worse
- State of panic
- Psychiatric signs
- Crash
- Depression
Underregulation- Standards
Failure to set time and access limits
Underregulation - Strength
- Negative affect
2. Unlimited access
Underregulation - Reduction of Monitoring
- Attention is systematically directed to immediate cues
a. Attention kept away from anything that would facilitate monitoring - Disinhibition
- Transcendence failure
Psychological Inertia
Development of automatic behaviors
Misregulation - Irrational or Faulty Beliefs
the belief that one can predict future chance events from knowing the outcome of past ones, because future and past outcomes must add up to a definite score
- Gamblers view chance outcomes as partially controllable
- Gamblers fallacy - misperception of chance events
Spiraling distress
- Money Problems
- History of “big win”
- Chasing
- Financial ruin
Addiction Model
- Dependence on the “action” of gambling
2. Similarities to dependence on mood altering drugs
Tolerance
needs to gamble with increasing amounts of
money
Withdrawl
- is restless or irritable when attempting to cut down or stop gambling
- gambles as a way of escaping from problems or a dysphoric mood
Larger amounts
After losing money gambling, often
returns another day to get even-”chasing”
Impaired control
has repeated unsuccessful efforts to control, cut back or stop gambling
Time spent
Is preoccupied with gambling
Neglect of activites
has jeopardized or lost a significant relationship, job or career opportunity because of gambling
Continued use despite problems
- Lies to family members or others to conceal the extent of gambling
- Has committed illegal acts to finance gambling
- Relies on others to provide money to relieve a desperate financial situation caused by gambling
Advantages of the medical disease
model
- Common signs and symptoms to establish diagnosis
- Lifts great burden of guilt
- Encourages development of resources for help to families and education of health professionals
- Encourages research
- Provides framework for enlightened public policy
- Provides a framework for treatment - Gamblers Anonymous, Naltrexone
