Abstract
Consequences experienced by the partners of individuals with a gambling disorder are well documented. However, little is known about the deleterious effects experienced by other people than partners of gamblers. A better understanding of these consequences could help improve clinical practices. The goal of this paper is to compare the consequences experienced by partners of gamblers with those experienced by their close family members (parents, adult children, siblings) by using the categorization method proposed by Langham et al. (BMC Public Health, 2016). To achieve this goal, 46 semi-structured interviews were conducted. Results indicate that the extent and intensity of the consequences experienced vary widely based on their level of emotional and financial involvement with the gambler. Considering the specific elements involved for each type of person in a gambler’s life, future research should distinguish participants based on the nature of their relationship with the gambler.
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Notes
Note that only the consequences are used for this project.
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This work was supported by the Fonds de recherche québécois: Société et Culture under Grant [Number 164425]. The PI also received a grant from the Institut universitaire sur les dépendances to translate the manuscript in English.
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In the present article, the terms gambler, pathological gambler and PG all refer to the same member of the couple, namely the person with the pathological gambling problem. For the most part, this person was male, and thus, where required, masculine pronouns are used to refer to this person. Conversely, the term partner refers to the non-gambling member of the couple, for the most part female. Pronoun gender follows accordingly.
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Ferland, F., Blanchette-Martin, N., Côté, M. et al. Do the Consequences Experienced by the People in the Life of a Problem Gambler Differ Based on the Nature of Their Relationship with the Gambler?. J Gambl Stud 38, 1075–1092 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-021-10058-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-021-10058-7