What Is Addictive Gambling - Article Example

Addictive gambling is all about failure to control gambling habits. If not well controlled, it results into one becoming a pathological gambler. This menace is also referred to as hidden illness in that, it is hard to see the physical symptoms which are associated with it. It is thought to be caused by factors like depression, low self esteem among many others. To investigate whether the assertion is true, a research was done with some 534 people selected to take part in the study. Females were 231 in number while their male counterparts were 303. Of all those who took part in the study, the mean gambling times per week was 1. Introduction Pathological gambling is the in-ability to control bad gambling habits. Addictive gambling is a mental health disorder which results from lack of impulse control (Nower, L & Alex, B 2001). It is a chronic and progressive disease which is treatable if good control measures are taken. According to Nower, L & Alex, B (2001), about 2% to 4% of Americans have the problem of addictive gambling. Addictive gambling is caused by feeling helplessness, being depressed and the feeling of guilty, self deception and the exposure to gambling activities. Some of the signs to know whether one is involved in gambling are; one always feels preoccupied and plans the next venture or thinking on how to get money to gamble, one is tolerant and wants to gamble in huge amounts of money in order to maybe achieve the most desired excitement, he/she is restless and is always irritated on attempting to stop gambling, he/she will always be chasing to see that monies lost in gambling is gotten back. Further, he/she often lies to family members and others in order to hide the extent of involvement with gambling. In addition, he/she often commits illegal acts such as forgery, fraud, theft and embezzlement among others seeking funds to finance his/her gambling addicts. Also, has lost a significant relationship, lost a job or jeopardized his/her career opportunity due to gambling. Further, he/she relies on friends and others to give money to relieve a financial situation. When the above is evident, then it is true that one has been involved in gambling. Literature review Research has been done time and again focusing mainly on the causes of pathological gambling and what best can be done for one to get rid of the menace. According to Agnes, P (2007), there are no known biological causes of pathological gambling disorder and that. Some gamblers use gambling as an emotional escape from depression. To her, this pattern of gambling appears often in females with the pathological disorder than in males. To her further, some people seek mood alteration which is associated with gambling due to the excitement and energy than the money involved in it. To Nower, L & Alex, B (2001), People who have pathological gambling often have problems with substance abuse, depression as well as feeling anxious. Many have alcohol and drug abuse problems and they often consider suicide while some of them attempt it. People with pathological gambling always have financial as well as both social and legal problems. These include state of bankruptcy, divorce, job loss and may be sometime in prison. According to Nower, L & Alex, B (2001), the stress and excitement gotten in gambling lead to heart attacks in some people. Pathological gambling can be categorized into two: Action gambling where the addict just behaves like a cocaine addict. Here the game of gambling is the game. Then there is escape gambling where the person just behaves in a manner so as to wish away some pressing matters life family matters or may be after loosing your job. According to Nower, L & Alex, B (2001), teens are three times more likely to become pathological gamblers than adults. In this regard, early education on the dangers of gambling addiction and awareness on how to get help for the problem is important in minimizing the effects of the disease. Addictive gambling has three phases. The first is the winning phase. In this phase, gamblers experience big wins or a series of wins which leaves them with no doubt that their winning ways will continue. Often, this leads to the feeling of great excitement while one is gambling thus increasing the amounts of their bets. The second phase is the losing phase. In this stage, gamblers often brag about previous wins which they have had and then start gambling alone. Also, in this phase, they think a lot about gambling and borrowing money either legally or illegally to finance their gambling. Further, they start telling lies to family members and friends and become withdrawn. Home lives are unhappy in this stage and are not able to pay debts. He/she chases the losses with believe that, they must return to win back from the losses. The last phase is the desperation phase which is marked by increase in time spent while gambling. During this stage, the gambler may experience hopelessness and start thinking of suicide, divorce, alcohol and/or other drug abuse leading to an emotional breakdown. Methodology The study involved some guys who had been tested and found to be stressed and a control group which were thought to be stress-free. Design of the study The study took part in a single day. The participants were given a questionnaire which had 8 parts to fill. It had parts on job experience, years one had spend in education, the gender, the times one gambled in a week, his/her age, whether stressed or not, one’s race and the kind of job he/she did. It had well structured instruction and questions. Before administering the research tool, it was test-retested to make sure that, it conformed to the required scientific research rigor. Sample determination A population of 900 was initially selected for the study. The sample was collected baring in mind all the requirements of an un-biased sample and random sampling was used. In the sample, males and females were equal in number; (450 males and 450 females). All were given the freedom to participate in the study by signing the consent form which had guidelines about the study. In this stage, only 534 agreed to take part in the study. 303 of those who agreed to take part were stressed while 231 were not. Ethical considerations Since the study involved human beings, ethical considerations were a high priority. The participants were guaranteed of their personal information security and that, the data collected was to be used for the sole purpose of the study. Further, the females as vulnerable groups were protected according rules concerning the protected populations. Data analysis The collected data was then coded as below and entered into a computer for analysis; in years of education, 1=4-10 years, 2=11-15 years while 3=15 and more years, in gender, 1=females while 2=males, work experience, 1=0-10 years, 2=11-20 years, 3=21-30 years, 4=31-40 years, 5=41-50 years while 6=51-60 years, gamble time per week, 1=0-10 times, 2=11-20 times, 3=21-30 times, 4=31-40 times, 5=41-50 times, in age, 1=young, 2=middle and 3=aged. In race, 1=other, 2=Hispanic and 3=white. In job, 1=management, 2=sales, 3=clerical, 4=service and 5=professional. Lastly, stress level, 1=not stressed and 2=stressed. The analysis was done using SPSS. Results Table 1: Gender Frequency Valid Percent Cumulative Percent female 231 43.3 43.3 male 303 56.7 100.0 Total 534 100.0 Figure 1 From table 1, it is evident that, females were 231 which translate to 43.3% of the sample while their male counterparts were 303 representing 56.7% of the population. This did not depend on anything while choosing them, their consent was the determinant. Females who volunteered to take part were fewer than the males thus the difference. Table 2: Number of Gambling Times per Week Frequency Valid Percent Cumulative Percent 0-10 times 370 69.3 69.3 11-20 times 143 26.8 96.1 21-30 times 20 3.7 99.8 31-50 times 1 .2 100.0 Total 534 100.0 Of the data collected, most of the participants gambled 0-10 times in a week which is 69.3% of the population. 143 participants gambled 11-20 representing 26.8% times in a week, 20 gambled 21-30 times per week which is 3.7% of the population while a single participant gambled between 31-50 times in a week. Table 3: AGE Frequency Valid Percent Cumulative Percent young 183 34.3 34.3 middle age 260 48.7 83.0 advanced age 91 17.0 100.0 Total 534 100.0 Figure 2 In the composition of the population, the young people i.e. less than 30 years were 34.3% of the population (183 in number), middle age-31-40 were the majority with a representation of 48.7 (260 in number) while those above 41 years were 17% of the population (91 in number). Table 4: Experiencing Stress Frequency Valid Percent Cumulative Percent Not stressed 231 43.3 43.3 stressed 303 56.7 100.0 Total 534 100.0 Before the study commenced, the participants were measured there level of stress. The stressed participants were 303 which was 56.7% of the population while those stress free were 231 representing 43.3% of the whole population. In any study the experimental group should be either larger than the control group of be of the same size as the control group. This is evident from above. Table 5: Gender Vs gambling time per week 0-10 times 11-20 times 21-30 times 31-50 times Group Total female 164 61 6 231 male 206 82 14 1 303 Group Total 370 143 20 1 534 On the issue of gender and the number of times one gambled, it is evident that, the males are addicted gamblers than the females. Females gambling 0-10 times in a week were 164 while their male counterparts were 206. 11-20 times per week had 61 females and 82 males while 21-30 times had 6 females and 14 males. The only participant to gamble more than 30 times was a male. Table 6: Education years Vs gambles per week 0-10 times 11-20 times 21-30 times 31-50 times Group Total 4-10 25 2 27 11-15 287 87 6 1 381 15 and more 58 54 14 126 Group Total 370 143 20 1 534 From the table above, it is evident that, participants who have spent between 11-15 years in education are the most affected by gambling. About of the total population gambled 0-10 times per week, 143 gambled between 11-20 times while 20 gambled 21-30 times. 11-15 years of education had the largest number of gamblers totaling to 381 while 15 and more years had 126 and 4-10 years had 27. Table 7: Work Experience Vs gambles per week 0-10 times 11-20 times 21-30 times 31-50 times Group Total 0-10 249 92 10 1 352 11-30 58 21 5 84 31-40 36 20 5 61 41-50 25 10 35 51-60 2 2 Group Total 370 143 20 1 534 Figure 3 Participants with job experience which is between 0-10 years were the heaviest gamblers with 249 of them gambling 0-10 times per week. They were followed by participants with 11-30 years of experience with 58 participants. While those with 31-40 years had 36 representatives. The least represented were those between 51-60 years of experience. Table 8: AGE Vs gambles per week 0-10 times 11-20 times 21-30 times 31-50 times Group Total young 153 26 3 1 183 middle age 161 88 11 260 advanced age 56 29 6 91 Group Total 370 143 20 1 534 The middle age are the most affected by pathological gambling. Of the total population, 260 participants were in the middle age while 183 were young. The remaining 91 participants were in the old age. Table 9: Race Vs gambles per week 0-10 times 11-20 times 21-30 times 31-50 times Group Total other 51 15 1 67 Hispanic 24 1 2 27 white 295 127 17 1 440 Group Total 370 143 20 1 534 From the table above, it is evident that, the white participants are the most affected by gambling with 440 of them gambling several times in a week. Hispanics had 27 participants affected while other races had 67 participants in the total population. Table 10: Stress level Vs gambles per week 0-10 times 11-20 times 21-30 times 31-50 times Group Total Not stressed 164 61 6 231 stressed 206 82 14 1 303 Group Total 370 143 20 1 534 Stressed participants tended to participate in gambling than their counterparts who were not stressed. Figure 3 Figure 4 Explanations From the above results, it is evident that, males are the most affected by pathological gambling by 56%. This may be caused by factors like family dependence since in most cases they are the bread winners in that family. Also, this may be so because, males are involved in many activities in their job places. Such activities make them to interact with one another thus passing the menace of gambling to each other. Also, it is evident that, the stressed people are most likely to be involved in gambling. According to research done, the stressed tend to hide in the wings of the fact that, they have to get into some form of extra activity so as to get rid of the stress. Some of the alternatives include gambling which to them is like a drug. In real sense, pathological gambling in the name of reducing stress will actually accelerate it. This is so because, in the three phases, the person will win I the first days, then become a serial loser and finally he/she breaks down. During the breakdown, he/she finds ways of financing his/her behaviours and it is difficulty to come normal again without proper counseling. Thus, in the name of reducing stress, one ends up wasting more funds and becoming even more stressed. The middle age are the most affected according to the collected data. This may be caused by peer pressure and lack of guidance from the family members and friends. School/college stress may also contribute to this. The learned guys are not much affected since they can control their behaviours. This is evident in the number of years one has spent in education. Those who have spent some time are not much affected as those that have not participated. Those who are experienced are not affected much by gambling. This is so because, they have no job stress as they can perform to their best thus, they are always in good terms with their bosses. Those who have some few years of experience are affected since they have stress at job places. This may also be caused by lack of self esteem since if low, one is not sure what to do or what to expect. The higher you go in terms of experience, the lesser you are to be involved in gambling. In terms of race, the whites are involved a lot since they have the experience in gambling and have examples of people who have participated and who have won than the other races. All in all, stress in family, stress in the work place and any other form if stress is a sure cause of pathological gambling. Conclusion Pathological gambling is a disorder which is caused by the in ability to control the habit of gambling in the name of reducing stress. It is caused by factors including depression, stress in any relationship, loss of job, peer pressure, influence among many other factors. It makes one a slave thus leading to financial burdens, it makes one to start telling lies even to his/her closer friends, one starts begging for assistance from friends and relative on something he/she has caused. It can be treated through proper counseling. Reference Agnes, P (2007). Gambling Addiction: Signs, Symptoms, and Treatment of Problem Gambling. Retrieved 19 February, 2008, from: http://www.helpguide.org/mental/gambling_addiction.htm Nower, L & Alex, B (2001).A Pathway Model of Problem and Pathological Gambling. Retrieved 19 February, 2008, from: http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/pdf/10.1046/j.1360-0443.2002.00015.x Read More