Barriers to Treatment for Female Problem Gamblers: A UK Perspective
File(s)
Author(s)
Kaufman, A
Nielsen, JDJ
Bowden-Jones, H
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
There is a paucity of research in the UK which examines problem gambling and
that which does exist is mainly quantitative, focuses on male samples and fails to look at
treatment seeking populations or obstacles preventing problem gamblers from seeking
treatment. This paper presents findings from part of a larger qualitative study that explored
the experience of treatment for female problem gamblers. Data were collected using semistructured
interviews with eight women who had received individual cognitive-behavioural
therapy in the National Health Service for their gambling problem. An interpretative
phenomenological analysis approach was applied in the research process, identifying three
main themes, of which the subtheme ‘Barriers to Treatment’ is examined here. Internal and
external barriers to treatment organically emerged in all female participants’ accounts and
appear to have an impact on service utilisation. Input directly from gamblers can be
combined with findings from other studies to devise better ways of reaching female
problem gamblers. A better understanding of barriers to treatment can also provide
valuable direction for future research and suggest applications in clinical service provision
and treatment planning.
that which does exist is mainly quantitative, focuses on male samples and fails to look at
treatment seeking populations or obstacles preventing problem gamblers from seeking
treatment. This paper presents findings from part of a larger qualitative study that explored
the experience of treatment for female problem gamblers. Data were collected using semistructured
interviews with eight women who had received individual cognitive-behavioural
therapy in the National Health Service for their gambling problem. An interpretative
phenomenological analysis approach was applied in the research process, identifying three
main themes, of which the subtheme ‘Barriers to Treatment’ is examined here. Internal and
external barriers to treatment organically emerged in all female participants’ accounts and
appear to have an impact on service utilisation. Input directly from gamblers can be
combined with findings from other studies to devise better ways of reaching female
problem gamblers. A better understanding of barriers to treatment can also provide
valuable direction for future research and suggest applications in clinical service provision
and treatment planning.
Date Issued
2016-12-22
Date Acceptance
2016-12-01
Citation
Journal of Gambling Studies, 2016, 33 (3), pp.975-991
ISSN
1050-5350
Publisher
Springer Verlag
Start Page
975
End Page
991
Journal / Book Title
Journal of Gambling Studies
Volume
33
Issue
3
Copyright Statement
© The Author(s) 2016
Open Access
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.
Open Access
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.
License URL
Subjects
Science & Technology
Social Sciences
Life Sciences & Biomedicine
Substance Abuse
Psychology, Multidisciplinary
Psychology
Problem gambling
Female
Treatment
Barriers
Interpretative phenomenological analysis
Cognitive-behavioural therapy
SEEKING
Publication Status
Published