Gambling motivation and involvement: A review of social

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RELEvancE tO pRObLEm GambLinG StudiES The involvement models presented have different objectives. Those presented early in the list aim primarily at explaining why one individual and not another one develop problem gambling. Therefore, there is a focus on individual factors, i.e. biological and psychological. Those presented at the end of the list primarily aim at explaining why certain groups of people gamble more than others. Therefore, there is a focus on the social and cultural variables that apply on group level. All these models are potentially useful for research with the purpose of identifying motives for gambling, explaining varying levels of involvement, and identifying risk factors – individual and/or socio-cultural – for problem gambling. However, the practical usefulness clearly varies. Some relationships in some models appear quite unproblematic to apply in quantitative research – the factors involved are rather easy to isolate and quantify and the causal relationships are not overly complicated. Other models seem virtually impossible to bring to instrumental use in quantitative research. That a specific model might not be useful for that purpose is not to be considered as a fault. The model may be intended to be primarily conceptual, not instrumental. G A M B L I N G M O T I VAT I O N A N D I N V O LV E M E N T 63
Concluding discussion Gambling – a multidimensional phenomenon The research reviewed shows that gambling is a multidimensional phenomenon, which can be studied from many perspectives. This is even more evident if we keep in mind that the review excludes quite a few types of studies in the social, cultural and economical sciences, as well as the most extensive body of research in gambling: the psychological studies. The dimensions of gambling span from the neurological impulse in the brain of a gambler to push a button on a slot machine, to cities built on gambling and the regulatory frameworks that govern the business of gaming. Some gamblers push the button on the slot machine way too many times and it is this type of destructive behavior that has occasioned this review: the public health issue of problem gambling. In our time, excessive gambling is conceived mainly as a health problem – a risky overconsumption, an addiction or pathological compulsion – rather than a sin, a vice, or stupidity for which the individual has only himself to blame. Just as excessive gambling in earlier times had its cures – religious penance, moral correction, and listening to reason – today there are public health approaches, hopefully more effective than earlier efforts, regarding how to prevent people from ruining their lives by playing too much and how to help those already suffering from the negative consequences of excessive gambling. In order to implement these measures of prevention, intervention and treatment, knowledge is needed. The knowledge needed is essentially of two kinds. The first kind of knowledge is beyond the scope of this review: why do some individuals, and not others, start to play excessively, given similar social and cultural contexts? This question is commonly answered by psychologists who study how individual minds differ due to genetic and biological constitution, as well as particular histories of emotional experiences, social learning, and behavioral reinforcement. The second kind of knowledge needed deals with the collective level, rather than the individual level. This knowledge concerns two issues: firstly, what motivates people to gamble; and secondly, the reasons why certain categories of people are unusually highly involved in gambling, some having problems keeping their gambling within reasonable limits. 64 G A M B L I N G M O T I VAT I O N A N D I N V O LV E M E N T
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Gambling motivation and involvement
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Report no 2 in the SWELOGS-programm
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Historical studies and literature h
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Extensive summary thiS REpORt pRESE
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Introduction Objective This report
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All predominantly biological, psych
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Page 53 and 54: theory. In these studies, the objec
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Page 63: than believing that their problems
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Page 71 and 72: References 1. Rönnberg S, Volberg
Page 73 and 74: 39. Grinols EL. Gambling in America
Page 75 and 76: 84. Goffman E. Frame Analysis. Harm
Page 77 and 78: 128. Volberg RA, Nysse-Carris KL, G
Page 79 and 80: 173. Becker GS, Grossman M, Murphy
Page 81 and 82: 218. Cain M, Law D, Peel D. The rel
Page 83 and 84: 265. Knapp BL. Gambling, Game, and
Page 85 and 86: 311. Desmond GR. Gambling among the
Page 87 and 88: 349. O’Brien Cousins S, Witcher C
Page 89 and 90: 391. Kingma S. A sign of the times:
Page 91 and 92: 433. LaPlante DA, Nelson SE, LaBrie
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