Gambler self-help strategies: A comprehensive assessment of self-help strategies and actions
Year: 2015
Type: report
Abstract: Even though most people who develop gambling problems do not seek treatment,\nmany recover through their own volition. Historically referred to as natural recovery,\nthere is growing evidence that a gambling problem rarely spontaneously resolves itself,\nrather resources, strategies, and actions are employed. Self-help is the most widely\nused type of help amongst gamblers, and the first choice of gamblers if a problem has\ndeveloped. Despite this, self-help has largely only been examined as a component of\nstudies investigating help-seeking or recovery from problem gambling, rather than in its\nown right. As such, previous studies have typically investigated the uptake and\neffectiveness of a small set of self-help strategies, largely drawn from qualitative\ninterviews with gamblers who are in recovery. These retrospective accounts are\nimportant but limited in that they represent a select and often small subsample of the\ngambling population. As such, there is a need to look beyond the literature to document\nwhat strategies and actions are promoted by industry and government, as well the\nstrategies that are endorsed by gamblers themselves.\nBuilding on the existing evidence, this multi-method project sought to develop a\ncomprehensive list of self-help strategies and actions from a broad range of sources,\nas well as examine their uptake and helpfulness within an Australian context. Based on\nthe previous literature, self-help was defined as the resources, strategies and actions\npeople use to control or maintain change to their gambling that they do themselves,\nwithout necessarily interacting with other people. Compared to professional help, selfhelp\nstrategies are characterised by being: (i) non-professionally administered; (ii)\nlargely self-administered; and (iii) under personal control. Importantly, people can\nengage in self-help alone, as well as sequentially or concurrently with other forms of\nhelp, including from family and friends, peer support, mutual aid groups, and\nprofessional sources.
Source: Acquire (CQUniversity)
Authors: Lubman, D, Rodda, S, Hing, N, Cheetham, A, Cartmill, T, Nuske, E, Hodgins, D, Cunningham, J
Language: English
Subfield: Clinical Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7056874329