Key Indicators of the Transition from Social to Problem Gambling

  • Dave Clarke
  • Samson Tse
  • Max Abbott
  • Sonia Townsend
  • Pefi Kingi
  • Wiremu Manaia
Article
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Revised:
Accepted:

Abstract

At the International Gambling Conference: Policy, Practice and Research in 2004 (Clarke, eCommunity-International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 3:29–40, 2005), a paper was presented which proposed key indicators of the transition from social to problem gambling and to recovery, based on a review of literature on factors leading to substance abuse. They included availability of gambling activities, lack of social and cultural empowerment, low socioeconomic status, and personal loss of control. Subsequently, a multidisciplinary team collected data on why people gamble. Four New Zealand ethnic groups (Päkehä/New Zealand European, Mäori, Pacific peoples and Asians) in South Auckland were targeted for both phases of the study. Phase 1 involved qualitative analysis of data from individual interviews and focus groups. Phase 2 surveyed 345 adults using a questionnaire developed from the first phase. From both phases, key indicators for problem gambling were similar to the indicators for substance abuse. Public health interventions such as reducing access to electronic gaming machines and empowerment of cultural groups, and a longitudinal study of the development of gambling in the community are suggested.

Keywords

Transition from social to problem gambling Problem gambling Substance abuse Public health in New Zealand 
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Notes

Acknowledgment

The research on which this paper is based was funded by a grant from the Health Research Council of New Zealand (HRC Ref: PG03/B/01).

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Copyright information

© Springer Science + Business Media, Inc. 2006

Authors and Affiliations

  • Dave Clarke
    • 1
  • Samson Tse
    • 2
  • Max Abbott
    • 3
  • Sonia Townsend
    • 2
  • Pefi Kingi
    • 2
  • Wiremu Manaia
    • 2
  1. 1.Massey UniversityAucklandNew Zealand
  2. 2.University of AucklandAucklandNew Zealand
  3. 3.Auckland University of TechnologyAucklandNew Zealand

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