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Today’s blog is the second part of a two-part article (the first of which can be found here). The previous blog briefly examined risk factors in adolescent gamblers and signs of problem gambling in adolescents. The three lists below highlight some early warning signs of a possible gambling problem, some definite signs and a thumbnail profile of a problem gambler. This is followed by some (hopefully) helpful tips and hints.

Early warning signs of a gambling addiction

Unexplained absences from home
Continual lying about day-to-day movements
Constant shortage of money
General increase in secretiveness
Neglect of studies, family, friends, health and appearance
Agitation (if unable to gamble)
Mood swings
Loss of friends and social life
Gambling seen as a legitimate way of making money

Signs of a definite gambling problem

Large debts (which are always explained away)
Trouble at school or college about non-attendance
Unexplained borrowing from family and friends
Unwillingness to repay borrowed money
Total preoccupation with gambling and spending money on gambling
Gambling alone for long periods
Constantly chasing losses in an attempt to win money back
Constantly gambling until all money is gone
Complete alienation and rejection from family and friends
Lying about the extent of their gambling to family and friends
Committing crimes as a way of getting money for gambling or paying off debts
Gambling overriding all other interests and obligations

Profile of the problem adolescent gambler

Unwilling to accept reality and has a lack of responsibility for gambling
Gambles to escape deeper problems (and the gambling environment may even be a substitute for parental affection)
Insecure and feels inferior to parents and elders
Wants good things without making an effort and loves games of chance
Likes to be a ‘big shot’ and feels it’s important to win (gambling offers them status and a way of defining achievement)
Likes to compete
Feels guilty with losses acting as a punishing behaviour
May be depressed
Low self-esteem and confidence
Other compulsive and/or addictive traits

Finally it is worth noting some of the ‘trigger’ situations and circumstances that a gambling problem might first come to light. Paul Bellringer has highlighted an array of situations that provide an opportunity to help the gambler focus on their need to change. These are:

Acceptance by the gambler that control has been lost: This is the step before they ask for help.
Asking for help: Having realised for themselves that gambling has taken control over their life, they may reach out to those closest to them
Observation of too much time spent in a gambling environment: Such observations by friends or family may provoke discussion as to how this is affecting the life of a gambler.
Getting in to financial trouble/Accumulation of debts: This might be a crisis point at which problem gambling might raise its head for the first time.
Uncovered lies: Realization that the gambler has been caught lying may lead to admissions about their gambling problems
Dwindling social circles/Losing close relationships: These observation may again lead to problem gambling being discovered by family or friends.
Discovered crime: This is usually a real crisis point that the family may discover the truth for the first time.
Homelessness: Being thrown out of the family home may be the trigger for problem gamblers to be honest for the first time about the mess they are in.

Discovering that you are the parent of an adolescent problem gambler can be highly stressful – particularly as it is often a problem that parents feel they have to face on their own. Before getting involved with their children parents have to understand the problem as well as the process of problem gambling. By the time a young gambler acknowledges they have a problem, the family may have already gone through a lot of emotional turmoil including feelings of anger, sadness, puzzlement and guilt. Parents should try and get in touch with a helping agency as soon as possible. The following points are appropriate for parents either during or as a follow-up to their initial contact with a helping agency.

Remember that you are not the only family facing this problem.
You may be able to help your child by talking the problem through but it is probably better if a skilled person outside the family is also involved.
Keep in mind that it is a serious matter and that the gambler cannot “just give up”.
Take a firm stand; whilst it might feel easier to give in to demands and to believe everything they say, this allows your child to avoid facing the problem.
Remember that your child likes to gamble and is getting something from the activity quite apart from money.
Do not forget that gamblers are good at lying – to themselves as well as you
Let your child know that you believe it is a problem even though they may not admit it.
Encourage your child all the time as they have to be motivated to change
Be prepared to accept that your child may not be motivated to change until they are faced with an acute crisis.
Leave the responsibility for gambling and its consequences with the gambler, but also help them to face up to it and to work at overcoming the dependency.
Do not condemn them, as it is likely to be unhelpful and may drive them further into gambling.
Setting firm and fair boundaries for your child’s behaviour is appropriate and is likely to be constructive in providing a framework with which to address the dependency.
Despite what your child may have done it is important to let them know that you still love them. This should be done even if you have to make a ‘tough love’ decision such as asking them to leave home.
Do not trust them with money until the dependency has been broken. If they are agreeable it is a helpful strategy for a defined short period of time to manage their money for them. In addition, help develop their financial management skills.
Encourage other alternative activities. Try to identify other activities that the child is good at and encourage them in that.
Give praise for any achievements (however small) although don’t go over the top.
Provide opportunities to contribute to the family or the running of the house to develop responsibility.
Try to listen with understanding and look at them with pleasure. Communication channels between child and parent can easily be blocked so simple measures can pay big dividends.
Bear in mind that as a parent you will need support too through this long process of helping the child. You will need the support of your family and may also need additional support from a helping agency.

Having successfully broken a dependency on gambling, it is important to put in place measures that will help prevent gambling relapses. Useful strategies include the following:

Place a limit on future gambling, or avoid gambling altogether.
Internalise learning and avoid reverting to ingrained reactions to difficult or stressful situations.
Watch for situations and circumstances that trigger the urge to gamble and be ready to face them.
Nurture self-esteem – work at feeling good about yourself.
Develop a range of interests that, preferably, meet similar needs to those that were previously being met by gambling.
Spend time and energy working at building good human relationships.
Reassess the significance of money and endeavour to reduce its importance in your life.
Continue to explore, on occasion, reasons why gambling became so significant in your life.

Other more general steps that gamblers should be encouraged to do include:

Be honest with themselves and others
Deal with all outstanding debts
Accept responsibility for their gambling
Abstain from gambling while trying to break the dependency
Talk about how gambling makes them feel
Take one day at a time
Keep a record of ‘gambling-free’ days
Be positive and not give up after a ‘slip’ or a ‘lapse’
Reward themselves after a gambling-free period
Develop alternative interests

Parents and practitioners should also be aware that problems are likely to be avoided when the young gambler keeps in control of the situation and ensures that their gambling remains a social activity. The following brief guide is aimed particularly for working with young gamblers but applicable to everyone. It will help ensure that gambling remains an enjoyable and problem-free experience. It is wise to remember that:

When you are gambling you are buying entertainment, not investing money
You are unlikely to make money from gambling
The gaming industry and the government are the real winners
You should only gamble with money that you can afford to lose
You should set strict limits on how much you will gamble
To make profit from gambling you should quit when ahead
Gambling should only take up a small amount of your time and interest
Problems will arise if you become preoccupied with gambling
Gambling within your means is a fun and exciting activity
Gambling outside your means is likely to create serious problems
You should not gamble to escape from worries or pressures
The feeling of being powerful and in control when gambling is a delusion
A gambling dependency is as damaging as other addictions
Always gamble responsibly

Hopefully the two parts of this blog have highlighted a potential danger among children and adolescence. It covered risk factors, warning signs to look for, and strategies to help those with a problem. Through education and awareness, it is hoped that gambling problems will be viewed no differently from other potentially addictive substances and that schools will take the issue seriously.

Dr Mark Griffiths, Professor of Gambling Studies, International Gaming Research Unit, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, UK

Further reading

Bellringer, P. (1999). Understanding Problem Gamblers. London : Free Association Books.

Griffiths, M.D. (1995). Adolescent Gambling. London: Routledge.

Griffiths, M.D. (2002). Gambling and Gaming Addictions in Adolescence. Leicester: British Psychological Society/Blackwells.

Griffiths, M.D. (2003). Adolescent gambling: Risk factors and implications for prevention, intervention, and treatment. In D. Romer (Ed.), Reducing Adolescent Risk: Toward An Integrated Approach (pp. 223-238). London: Sage.

Griffiths, M.D. (2008). Adolescent gambling in Great Britain. Education Today: Quarterly Journal of the College of Teachers. 58(1), 7-11.

Griffiths, M.D. (2011). Adolescent gambling. In B. Bradford Brown & Mitch Prinstein (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Adolescence (Volume 3) (pp.11-20). San Diego: Academic Press.

Griffiths, M.D. (2013). Adolescent gambling via social networking sites: A brief overview. Education and Health, 31, 84-87.

Griffiths, M.D. & Linsey, A. (2006). Adolescent gambling: Still a cause for concern? Education and Health, 24, 9-11.

Griffiths, M.D. & Parke, J. (2010). Adolescent gambling on the Internet: A review. International Journal of Adolescent Medicine and Health, 22, 59-75.

Griffiths, M.D. & Wood, R.T.A. (2000). Risk factors in adolescence: The case of gambling, video-game playing and the internet. Journal of Gambling Studies, 16, 199-225.

Posted in Addiction, Adolescence, Case Studies, Compulsion, Crime, Cyberpsychology, Gambling, Gambling addiction, Gender differences, I.T., Lottery, Obsession, Online gambling, Poker, Problem gamblng, Psychological disorders, Psychology, Technological addiction, Technology

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Slots of fun: What should parents and teachers know about adolescent gambling? (Part 1)

Nov 3

Posted by drmarkgriffiths

Research has consistently shown that a small but significant minority of adolescents have a gambling problem. It has also been noted that adolescents may be more susceptible to problem gambling than adults. In Great Britain, the most recent statistics suggest that around 2% of adolescents have a gambling problem. This figure is two to three times higher than that identified in the adult population. On this evidence, young people are clearly more vulnerable to the negative consequences of gambling than adults.

A typical finding of many adolescent gambling studies has been that problem gambling appears to be a primarily male phenomenon. It also appears that adults may to some extent be fostering adolescent gambling. For example, a strong correlation has been found between adolescent gambling and parental gambling. Similarly, many studies have indicated a strong link between adult problem gamblers and later problem gambling amongst their children. Other factors that have been linked with adolescent problem gambling include working class youth culture, delinquency, alcohol and substance abuse, poor school performance, theft and truancy.

One consequence of the research into adolescent gambling is that we can now start to put together a ‘risk factor model’ of those individuals who might be at the most risk of developing problem gambling tendencies. Based on summaries of empirical research, a number of clear risk factors in the development of problem adolescent gambling emerge. Adolescent problem gamblers are more likely to:

Be male (16-25 years)
Have begun gambling at an early age (as young as 8 years of age)
Have had a big win earlier in their gambling careers
Consistently chase losses
Gamble on their own
Have parents who gamble
Feel depressed before a gambling session
Have low self-esteem
Use gambling to cultivate status among peers
Be excited and aroused during gambling
Be irrational (i.e. have erroneous perceptions) during gambling
Use gambling as a means of escape
Have bad grades at school
Engage in other addictive behaviours (smoking, drinking alcohol, illegal drug use)
Come from the lower social classes
Have parents who have a gambling (or other addiction) problem
Have a history of delinquency
Steal money to fund their gambling
Truant from school to go gambling

There are also some general background factors that might increase the risk of becoming a problem gambler. Common factors include:

Broken, disruptive or very poor family
Difficult and stressful situations within the home
Heavy emphasis on money within the family
The death of a parent or parental figure in their childhood
Serious injury or illness in the family or themselves
Infidelity by parents
High incidence of abuse (verbal, physical and/or sexual)
Feeling of rejection as a child
Feelings of belittlement and disempowerment

This list is probably not exhaustive but incorporates what is known empirically and anecdotally about adolescent problem gambling. As research into the area grows, new items to such a list will be added while factors, signs and symptoms already on these lists will be adapted and modified. Gambling has often been termed the ‘hidden addiction’. The main reasons for this arise from the problem with the identification. This is because:

There are no observable signs or symptoms like other addictions (e.g. alcoholism, heroin addiction etc.)
Money shortages and debts can be explained away with ease in a materialistic society
Adolescent gamblers do not believe they have a problem or wish to hide the fact
Adolescent gamblers are exceedingly plausible and become adept at lying to mask the truth
Adolescent gambling may be only one of several excessive behaviours

Although there have been some reports of a personality change in young gamblers many parents may attribute the change to adolescence itself (i.e., evasive behaviour, mood swings etc. are commonly associated with adolescence). It is quite often the case that many parents do not even realize they have a problem until their son or daughter is in trouble with the police. I have noted there are a number of possible warning signs to look for although individually, many of these signs could be put down to adolescence. However, if several of them apply to a child or adolescent it could be that they will have a gambling problem. The signs include:

No interest in school highlighted by a sudden drop in the standard of schoolwork
Unexplained free time such as going out each evening and being evasive about where they have been
Coming home later than expected from school each day and not being able to account for it
A marked change in overall behaviour (that perhaps only a parent would notice). Such personality changes could include becoming sullen, irritable, restless, moody, touchy, bad-tempered or constantly on the defensive
Constant shortage of money
Constant borrowing of money
Money missing from home (e.g., from mother’s purse or father’s wallet)
Selling personal possessions and not being able to account for the money
Criminal activity (e.g., shoplifting in order to sell things to get money for gambling)
Coming home hungry each afternoon after school (because lunch money has been spent on gambling)
Loss of interest in activities they used to enjoy
Lack of concentration
A “couldn’t care less” attitude
Lack of friends and/or falling out with friends
Not taking care of their appearance or personal hygiene
Constantly telling lies (particularly over money)

However, many of these ‘warning signs’ are not necessarily unique to gambling addictions and can also be indicative of other addictions (e.g. alcohol and other drugs). Confirming that gambling is indeed the problem may prove equally as difficult as spotting the problem in the first place. Directly asking an individual if they have a problem is likely to lead to an outright denial. Talking with them about their use of leisure time, money and spending preferences, and their view about gambling in general is likely to be more effective. Part 2 to follow in my next blog!