A Critical Analysis of Interventions for Women Harmed by Others’ Gambling

Authors

  • Katie Palmer du Preez Auckland University of Technology
  • Jason Landon Auckland University of Technology
  • Laura Maunchline Auckland University of Technology
  • Rebecca Thurlow Auckland University of Technology

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.29173/cgs76

Keywords:

gambling, families, concerned significant others, treatment, support

Abstract

At present, gambling studies literature has multiple understandings of family and others affected (FAOs) by gambling harm and their support needs in play, each with different possibilities and constraints for harm reduction engagement with women. Individual psychological approaches have been privileged, eschewing the social and relational situation of gambling and harm in women’s lives. In Australasia, the majority of those seeking support in relation to a significant others’ gambling are women. Gender has been posited as a shaping force in the social stratification system, distribution of resources, and gambling and harm within society. There has been minimal engagement with the lived experiences of FAOs, which limits gambling harm reduction service development and planning. This research critically engaged with gambling harm reduction studies for FAOs, alongside interviews with eight women FAOs who presented to community services from a social constructionist perspective. The aim was to provide insight into how women FAOs position themselves and their support needs in relation to gambling harm and recovery. Data was analysed using thematic analysis informed by feminist poststructuralist theories of language. Results suggested that this small group of women were subject to intersecting patriarchal constraints and economic determinants of gambling harm. Powerful normative and moral constructions of ‘good/bad’ mothers operated to individualise some women’s responsibility for addressing harm in families and to alienate these women from gambling support services. These findings suggest that gambling services must support women and families in ways that go beyond personal functioning, extending into the social and political conditions of possibility for harm and recovery. Critical psychology and coherent gender analysis may offer opportunities to expand the role of gambling support to include advocacy, community development, and more client-led and gender-aware practice with women affected by gambling harm.

Author Biographies

Katie Palmer du Preez, Auckland University of Technology

Katie Palmer du Preez is a Senior Research Fellow in the Gambling and Addictions Research Centre (GARC) at Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand.

Jason Landon, Auckland University of Technology

Jason Landon is an Associate Professor of Psychology in the Faculty of Health and Environmental Sciences and the Gambling and Addictions Research Centre (GARC) at Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand.

Laura Maunchline, Auckland University of Technology

Laura Mauchline is a Research Officer in the Gambling and Addictions Research Centre (GARC) at Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand.

Rebecca Thurlow, Auckland University of Technology

Rebecca Thurlow is a counselling psychology student in the Faculty of Health and Environmental Sciences at Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand.

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Published

2021-05-19

How to Cite

Palmer du Preez, K., Landon, J., Maunchline, L., & Thurlow, R. (2021). A Critical Analysis of Interventions for Women Harmed by Others’ Gambling. Critical Gambling Studies, 2(1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.29173/cgs76