PROBLEM GAMBLINGANDFAMILY VIOLENCE IN HELP-SEEKINGPOPULATIONS:CO-OCCURRENCE, IMPACT ANDCOPING
Summary ofmainfindings
Fourhundredandfifty-fourclientsofproblemgamblingtreatmentservicestookpartinashort surveyongamblingandfamily/whānau violence and abuse. Therewere 370gamblersand84affectedothers(eg, partners,otherfamilymembersandfriends).Thesurveytookplacefrom June2013 to March2015.
Thepurposeoftheresearchwastoidentifytheleveloffamily/whānauviolenceandabuseinpeopleseekinghelpforproblemgambling,andtoincreaseourunderstandingoftheseissues.Awidedefinitionoffamily/whānauviolencewasused,whichincludedphysicalviolenceandcoercivecontrol(mostoftenthoughtofasviolence),aswellaspsychologicalandemotionalabuse (more often thought of asconflict),and sexual abuse.
Overall,half(50%)oftheparticipantswerevictimsofphysical,psychological,emotional,verbalor sexualabuseinthepast12months.Slightlylessthanhalf(44%)oftheparticipantscommittedviolenceorabuseatleastonceinthepast12months.Notethatthefrequencyofthe violence (howoften itoccurred in the past 12months) was not captured.
Themost commonabusewasverbal:
- 37% ‘screamed orcursedat’anotherperson and 41% were victims of this
- 34% ‘insulted or talked down to’ anotherperson and 40% were victims of this.
Physical abuse was lesscommon:
- 7% causedphysicalharmand 9%werevictims ofphysical harm
- 9% threatenedphysical harm and 12%were threatened with physical harm.No participantsreportedsexuallyabusingsomeonebut 4%had been sexuallyabused.
Moreaffectedothersreportedcommittingandbeingvictimsofviolenceandabusethangamblers:
- 57%of affectedothers committed violence/abusecompared with 41% ofgamblers
- 66%ofaffectedotherswerevictimsofviolence/abusecomparedwith47%ofgamblers.
Aboutthree-quartersofthefamily/whānauviolenceandabusewasto,orfrom,acurrentorex-partner;theotherfamilymembersweresonsordaughters,andotherfamily/whānaumembers.
Ofthe454participants,208(166gamblers,42affectedothers)agreedtotakepartinasecond,moredetailedsurveywitharesearcher.Resultsfromthissecondsurveyindicatedthataffectedothersweremorelikelytothinkthattheviolence/abusewascausedbythegambler’sgambling,compared withgamblers:
- 46%of affected othervictims thought this compared with 21% ofgamblervictims
- 54% of affectedother perpetratorsthoughtthis comparedwith 33% of gamblerperpetrators.
Gamblersweremorelikelytocommitfinancialabuse;affectedothersweremorelikelytobevictimsoffinancialabuse.Financialabuserelatedtobeingconcernedaboutmoney,valuablesorpropertygoingmissing;havingmoneytakenfromapurse/walletorbankaccountwithoutpermission;beingaskedorforcedtosignpapersaboutmoney;orbeingforcedtogambleforanotherperson.
Majorriskfactorsforgamblersbeingvictimsoffamily/whānauviolenceorabusewerehavingchildrenlivingathome,andexperiencingsomeofthegreatestnegativeeffectsfromproblemgambling.
Themajorriskfactorforgamblerscommittingfamily/whānauviolenceorabusewashavingfamily/whānau members with a mentalhealthissue.
Gamblersunderestimatedthenegativeeffectsoftheirgamblingonfamily/whānaumembers,childrenandhomelife,whichincludedfinancialproblems,reducedqualityofrelationships,relationshipstrainandbreak-up,negativehealtheffects,negativeemotions,socialdeprivation andneglect.
Family/whānaumembersusedvariousstrategiestocopewiththeotherperson’sgambling,whichincludedbecomingemotionalwiththegambler,explainingtheirfeelingstothegambler,helpingthegamblertosortoutfinancialproblems,pretendingthateverythingwasfine,andputtingthe interests of other family/whānaumembers ahead of the gambler.
This research has shownthat family/whānau violenceandabuseis common inpeople seekinghelpfortheirownorforsomeoneelse’sgambling.Theresearchalsoshowedthattheshortscreenusedinthestudy(whichiscalledtheHITSscale)issimpleandpracticaltouseby peoplewhoarenotfamilyviolenceexperts. Ifthissimplescreeningtoolweretobeusedtogetherwithexistingprocedures toidentifyfamilyviolenceamongstpeoplewhoareaffectedbygamblingproblems,thiscouldimprovetheoutcomesforthosepeople.However,beforesuchprocessesareputintoplace,appropriatetrainingwouldberequiredforstaffonhowtoscreenfor,andtoassessriskof,family/whānauviolenceandabuse,aswellastomakesurethatsupportmechanismsandsafetyprocessesareinplaceforpeoplewhodiscloseviolenceandseriousrisk to themselves or others.
TheresearchwasconductedbyAucklandUniversityofTechnology,GamblingandAddictionsResearchCentreandInterdisciplinaryTraumaResearchCentreinassociationwiththreenationalproblemgamblingtreatmentproviders.Threefamilyviolenceorganisationsprovidedadvicetotheresearchteamandassistedinsupportingsaferesearch processesandreferralsforparticipants.Thestudywasfundedby theMinistryofHealth.TheresearchteamcomprisedDrMariaBellringer,KatiePalmerduPreez,JanetPearson,DrNickGarrett,DrJaneKoziol-McLain, DrDenise Wilson and DrMaxAbbott.