Problem Gambling Flashcards
Define a problem gambler:
- someone whose difficulties limiting their gambling behaviour has caused a significant problem or problems for the person or someone in the persons immediate social network.
what is a pathological gambler?
a compulsive gambler
** a sever problem gambler
what are 7 types of gambling-related problems?
- Money Problems
- School Problems
- Work Problems
- Problems with family or friends
- Health problems
- Legal Problems
- Emotional Problems
- ANY of these AS A RESULT OF GAMBLING makes you a problem gambler
What are 9 signs & symptoms of PG?
- preoccupied with gambling
- chasing losses
- difficulty cutting back or stopping
- irritable when trying to cut down or stop gambling
- lying to hide involvement with gambling
- gambling to escape from problems or bad moods
- committing illegal acts to pay for gambling
- relying on others to “bail you out” of gambling debts
- gambling with increasing amounts of money to get the same excitement
What percent of canadians are Problem Gamblers?
- 4% —> HIGHER than the US or Australia
* * rates lower in Quebec and PEI,
* * rates higher in Alberta, BC
What are some things that correlate with problem gambling?
- males
- teenagers and people in there 20’s
- parents that are heavy or problem gamblers
- lower levels of education
- lower income
- substance use and abuse
- gambling being readily available
- cultural acceptability of gambling
- playing rapid forms of gambling with a high frequency of betting
- having problems controlling impulses
- mental health problems
- having a big win at gambling early on
- gambling serving a psychological need
- antisocial traits
- believing gambling fallacies
What are the 10 gambling fallacies?
- Normalizing your behavior
- Judging how frequent something is by how memorable it is
- Superstitious Behavior
- Ignoring the Odds
- Forgetting about the law of averages
- Random events are not influenced by past history
- The influence of early experience and occasional reward
- Taking credit for success and blaming failure on other things
- The tendency to confirm rather than dis-confirm our beliefs.
- Money does not solve all problems.
What is the generally accepted model that explains mental health problems? (including PG)?
Biopsychosocial Model
What does the Biopsychosocial model say about mental health problems?
- there are a large number of
-biological,
-psychological,
-experiential, and
-social factors
that both contribute to and protect individuals from developing a problem.
What are 4 biological risk factors to problem gambling?
- Impulsive
- risk seeking
- vulnerable to addiction
- vulnerable to mental health problems
What are 8 environmental risk factors to gambling?
- abusive/neglectful upbringing
- parental gambling
- peer group gambling
- societal acceptance of gambling
- gambling readily available
- low income
- unsafe provision of gambling
- high stress & low support
What percentage of problem gamblers are smokers?
76%
What are some contributing factors to responsible gambling?
- Good psychological health
- responsible gambling
- substance moderation or abstinence
- good social skills and social support
- good health practices
- positive school/work functioning
- posocial behaviour
What are some good indicators for future problem gambling?
- Non Caucasian ( particularily east asian)
- early big win
- family members regular gamblers/PG
- gambling with family prior to 19
- high number of formats for gambling engaged in
- frequency of play high
- high gambling expenditure
- membership in gambling rewards program
- gambling as a favored leisure activity
- current friends/family are PG
- history of addiction
- mental health problems
- substance abuse
- behavioural addiction (other types)
- illegal activities taken part in in the last year
- below average intellect
What are the 3 main phases to problem gambling?
- Winning
- Chasing losses
- Desperation
