An exploratory study of the process of becoming a problem gambler: a Hong Kong Chinese male study

Abstract

Background: This study was driven by the belief in the need to expand our understanding of the experience of people with problem gambling. Although there are increasing studies in explaining problem gambling, there is a lack of studies from a meaning-making perspective. Most of the existing models explaining problem gambling place less emphasis on the surrounding system, such as family and peers, which may have an interactive relationship with one’s gambling behaviour. Besides, gambling studies with a focus on culture often involve participants of minority groups and non-mainstream status, which is different from the local context in a Chinese-dominant country. Hence it is worthwhile to understand people with problem gambling in the local context by consideration of their meaning-making toward gambling and their interaction with surrounding systems.

Objectives: The study aims to develop understanding of the indigenous pathway(s) of becoming problem gamblers and how such problem behaviour is maintained. The main focuses of this study are how do males develop from social gamblers to problem gamblers, how do they experience themselves as problem gamblers, how may the differences in experiences result in different consequences, and what are some possible factors that initiate and maintain such process.

Methods: With reference to the theoretical framework of symbolic interactionism, a qualitative research methodology was employed. In-depth interviews were conducted to allow the researcher to listen to the stories and the subjective experiences of the participants. A rich pool of data in the forms of narratives and sketches of gambling history timelines was collected. QSR NVIVO software was used to help data analysis.

Results: The findings revealed how these men experienced the relationship with gambling and made meaning toward their gambling behaviour. Six stages, engagement, enjoyment, immersion, entrapment, separation and termination, were identified with reference to their meaning-making toward gambling. It was identified that there are dynamic interactions among the relationship with gambling, intra-personal relationship and interpersonal relationships in each stage. Vulnerability factors, maintenance factors and exiting factors, which have their roles in driving individuals from one stage to another, were identified and used as significant indicators for the typology of people with gambling problems. This study constructed a five-group typology: a chronic emptiness group, an overly-dependent group, an overly self-demanding group, a prolonged interpersonal distressed group and a brief and intensely distressed group. A process model of Chinese Hong Kong male problem gambling was proposed, which has significant implications for theoretical knowledge and practice.

Conclusion: This study makes a significant contribution by widening our understanding of the experience of people with problem gambling. It informs us of the important role of meaning making toward gambling and what purpose gambling has served for the people. Meanwhile, it proposes the importance of looking into the interaction dynamics among one’s relationship with gambling, intrapersonal relationship and interpersonal relationships.