We found a match
Your institution may have rights to this item. Sign in to continue.
- Title
Reasons for Seeking Help for a Gambling Problem: The Experiences of Gamblers Who Have Sought Specialist Assistance and the Perceptions of Those Who Have Not.
- Authors
Pulford, Justin; Bellringer, Maria; Abbott, Max; Clarke, Dave; Hodgins, David; Williams, Jeremy
- Abstract
This paper presents reasons for help-seeking data as reported by users of a national gambling helpline (help-seekers, HS, n = 125) as well as data pertaining to perceived reasons for seeking help as reported by gamblers recruited from the general population (non-help-seekers, NHS, n = 104). All data were collected via a structured, multi-modal survey. Participants in both groups considered help-seeking to be motivated by multiple factors (mean of 6.8 and 10.6 responses, respectively). Responses indicative of financial concern were most frequently reported by both HS and NHS participants (82 & 90%, respectively). Over a third of HS participants (35%) also identified financial concern as their primary reason for seeking help and 50% of NHS participants perceived financial concern to be the primary motivator for seeking help in a problem gambling context. Common types of secondary influence (other than financial concern) included psychological distress (HS & NHS participants), problem prevention (HS participants), rational thought (HS participants), physical health issues (HS participants), and relationship issues (NHS participants). The implications for promoting greater or earlier help-seeking activity amongst problem gamblers are discussed.
- Subjects
GAMBLING behavior; SURVEYS; SELF-help techniques; HELP-seeking behavior; PSYCHOLOGICAL distress; GAMBLER psychology
- Publication
Journal of Gambling Studies, 2009, Vol 25, Issue 1, p19
- ISSN
1050-5350
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1007/s10899-008-9112-x