Overcoming Shame and Stigma in Gambling Addiction Recovery

“Responsible gambling” campaigns often increase this stigma, blaming the individual instead of adopting an integrative approach. Although Gaming Disorder is considered less stigmatizing, the inclusion of microtransactions and the double stigmatization faced by women complicate access to treatment. To reduce stigma, strategies such as contact interventions, education, use of inclusive language, and public policies that promote a person-centered approach, expanding access to treatment and regulating advertising are proposed.

Shame and Blame in Gambling: Relationship with Emotion Regulation and Gambling Motives

People with gambling disorder expressed the view others perceive them as bad people and through the prism of their addiction. In their opinion, labelling an individual as a “problem gambler” entails a number of assumptions about their personality. Patients were enrolled in alcohol and drug outpatient treatment facilities and during Gambling Anonymous (GA) meetings. In the outpatient units, people with gambling disorder were recruited by therapists and then researchers contacted patients who agreed to participation in order to conduct an interview. At the GA meetings, information about the study was delivered by the leader of the group and those who were interested in participating were contacted directly by interviewers. Public stigma depends on whether the condition is viewed as reversible or not, with irreversible conditions tending to be more stigmatised (Jones et al., 1984).

Talking openly about addiction with trusted individuals, whether friends, family, or support groups, helps reduce feelings of shame and isolation. Disclosure also provides a sense of accountability, which can be beneficial in maintaining recovery 6. Social stigma refers to the negative perceptions that society holds about gambling addiction and those who struggle with it. People with gambling addiction are often perceived as irresponsible, untrustworthy, or morally flawed, which contributes to the stigma surrounding their condition. This view can affect their relationships, job prospects, and social interactions, often leading to further isolation 3.

• Participants in the education condition reported less anger towards persons with gambling disorder and endorsed fewer negative stereotypes.
• As respondents pointed out, it is a common perception that a gambling disorder is related to personal weakness and propensity to hedonism.
• Online support forums create spaces for gamblers to anonymously share their perspectives, which can help researchers and clinicians understand gamblers’ experiences with stigma.
• By investing in mental health, you enhance your happiness and resilience, better equipping yourself to face life’s challenges.

Dimensions of stigma such as disruptiveness require further exploration (Hing, Russell, Nuske, & Gainsbury, 2015), because so far only harm to individuals was considered. The results of studies on concealability are contradictory (Hing, Russell, Nuske, & Gainsbury, 2015), so this topic also requires further exploration. https://gullybetofficial.com/ Most previous studies on gambling disorder stigma employed quantitative design and specific case vignettes. In addition, most of the research has been carried out in Australia and the meaning, practice and outcome of stigma depends to a large extent on culture (Yang et al., 2007). Finally, the influence of culture on stigma related to gambling disorder and the efficacy of various stigma reduction approaches warrants further investigation.

Paper-and-pencil data was collected in the classroom in the case of educational institutions and in treatment rooms in the case of clinical sample. The online assessment in educational settings was conducted in classrooms that included computers. A researcher attended to the classroom or treatment room, presented the study and facilitated the link or the paper-and-pencil questionnaire. Confidentiality, anonymity and voluntary participation were guaranteed for all participants. In the case of underage participants, a letter was sent to their parents which they had to send back signed; in the case of adult participants, they had to click on their agreement to participate in the study (online assessment) or sign the informed consent (paper-and-pencil assessment).

Theme 4: Stigmatising other people who experience gambling harms

Future researchers could replicate this study with an expanded scope to include experiences from individuals outside the UK. Additionally, quantitative studies could explore potential differences in gambling-related stigma across various countries. These quotations illustrate how people perceived the ‘abandonment by God’ as evidence that they are ‘degenerate’ and ‘evil’ inside or that they are deserving of punishment because of some moral failing. The first quotation includes a wry comment about how “God’s isn’t watching over anybody’s degenerate bets that’s for sure” which implies that all people who gamble have been cast out by God, and is explicitly stigmatising. It also connotes a resigned despair suggesting that people who experience gambling harms are powerless to ‘the Devil’s’ temptation.

Gambling harms research is the dominant area of expertise for KP and JL, and KP has lived experience of gambling harms as an affected other. LN’s research focus spans Education and Cyberpsychology, and DDC’s primary area of expertise is intellectual disabilities. All authors have worked in gambling harms research and all share an interest in understanding the experiences of stigmatised and marginalised communities. Furthermore, shame and blame have been directly related to problem gambling (De Ridder & Deighton, 2021; Schlagintweit et al., 2017). In Miller and Thomas’ (2017) qualitative study, it was found that the majority of participants with gambling problems blamed themselves for the problems they had developed by gambling. Much of the language used by these participants was strongly moralised, and the words ‘blame’ and ‘shame’ were used repeatedly in these participants’ accounts.

These portrayals contribute to stigmatising those with mental health conditions, reinforcing negative attitudes and discriminatory actions against them. Corrigan and Watson 12 demonstrated that exposure to such stereotypes can result in internalised stigma which has a detrimental impact on self-esteem and acts as a barrier to help-seeking. Furthermore, stereotypes influence how others perceive and interact with individuals who experience mental health issues, ultimately leading to social exclusion and marginalisation 19. Secondly, the relationships between gambling severity, blame and shame with gambling motives and emotion regulation ability at present and in the last 2 weeks were analysed (Table 2). As can be seen, gambling severity was positively related to the gambling motives of enhancement and coping and to the capacity for emotion regulation based on self-blame, acceptance, rumination, positive reappraisal and catastrophising.

«We’re impacting our children, who have no idea about gambling, especially at my son’s age. They’re getting conditioned.» «We go on football apps and things like that and the first thing that they see when they try and watch a replay of the game is gambling ads,» he said. Lived experience advocate and former gambler Shayne Rodgers grew up with gambling as part of his life. Young people, aged 18 to 24, were nearly twice as likely to be at high risk of harm, compared to other age groups.

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Unlike other forms of addiction, such as substance abuse, gambling addiction is often viewed as a behavioral choice rather than a condition that requires treatment and support, although they have a lot in common, according to the article at the link by the RG editorial team. While the study found most Australians — around 50 per cent — were considered non-risk gamblers, which means they did not experience harm related to the practice, the study found there had been a rise in people who experienced some form of gambling-related harm. People struggling with gambling addiction may be viewed as “irresponsible” or “weak,” leading to self-judgment and secrecy. Studies indicate that hiding an addiction exacerbates the shame, pushing individuals into a darker emotional space. Recognizing that shame is an obstacle to recovery is the first step in overcoming it and opening the path to healing. Dimensions such as the occurrence of negative consequences (disruptiveness), the possibility of hiding (concealability), personal responsibility (origin) are the same as those distinguished by Jones at al. (1984).

Gathering data online presents researchers with an opportunity to collect naturally occurring information on sensitive topics that may otherwise be difficult to obtain 39. Thus, to gain an insight into the stigmatisation of people who experience gambling harms, data were gathered from three online forums which offer self-help for gambling-related harm. The method of collection and analysis complied with the terms and conditions for the source of the data, and with the BPS guidelines for internet mediated research 41. Stereotypes are generalised beliefs about specific groups of people (and an expectation that people might have about every member of that group), which are fixed, oversimplified, often exaggerated and frequently linked to negative traits of behaviours. For example, the mainstream media regularly portrays people with mental illness as dangerous, unpredictable or incompetent 18.

Thus, these opposing influences on levels of desired social distance may cancel out overall differences in stigmatizing attitudes towards the two conditions. Numerous studies have shown that stigma has harmful consequences for the mental condition of stigmatised individuals and affects self-perceptions and self-esteem (Dinos, Scott, Serfaty, Weich, & King, 2004; Hing, Russell, Gainsbury, & Nuske, 2015; Meyer, 2003; Stutterheim et al., 2009). People with gambling disorder included in this study feel shame about their problem, have a feeling of being someone worse, someone who did not manage in life and a stupid person.

Koenig (2009) argued that less stigma is applied to wealthy people who engage in excessive gambling as they are better able to sustain their losses. All elements constituting the stigma-creation process (Link et al., 2004) were reflected in respondents’ statements. According to these, people with gambling disorder can avoid stigma as long as their problem is not obvious to others and they will not be labelled. Once labelled, the stereotypes regarding the social group to which an individual is perceived to belong are applied.

The researchers identified three UK-based public online support forums for gambling harm. Twenty-seven threads (389 posts) across these forums included content from someone with lived experience with gambling harm, discussing their experiences with stigma or discrimination, or obstacles to seeking help. The researchers used thematic analyses to identify themes relating to experiences of stigma. These interpretations were reviewed for accuracy by the research team and a gambling lived experience panel. This study was UK-based as the work was funded by a UK charity, and the scope was to understand experiences in Great Britain. Contextual clues from the forums, such as references to sporting events and specific language used, suggested that most participants were from the UK.