Barriers to Healthy Behaviors

Gambling involves staking something of value and hoping to gain despite the uncertainty regarding the results. Family and peer gambling contribute to adolescent gambling and binge drinking behavior. The extent of contribution by the family and peers differs. Strategies targeting closely-affiliated families and peer members are essential to prevent gambling and alcohol use among adolescents.

Excessive gambling in the family is associated with a great likelihood of binge drinking. Perceived concern or excessive gambling among peers is associated with a lower likelihood of binge drinking (Zhai et al., 2018). Adolescent binge drinking may not be attributed solely to the family’s gambling practices. Excessive gambling among peers and family members yields a greater likelihood of binge drinking than gambling in the family alone. Peer gambling experiences facilitate severe drinking in adolescents with familial gambling. Compared to peers alone, excessive gambling in both peers and family members leads to low-frequency binge relative to non-binge drinking (Zhai et al., 2018). Poor family functioning explains the link between perceived social gambling and low-frequency binge drinking. Family involvement and moderate peer and adolescent drug use may delay the initiation of binge drinking.

Various barriers prevent the reduction of the problem of pathological gambling. The first barrier is a sense of shame. The necessity of a person admitting that they are a gambling addict is linked to a sense of shame (Çelik et al., 2018). Seeking treatment is like admitting the problem which they failed to acknowledge for many years. To avoid this feeling, they fail to seek assistance. In addition to shame, pathological gamblers fear being stigmatized by society (Çelik et al., 2018). They fear what their friends and family members will think about them. They opt to maintain anonymity and continue gambling in secrecy.

The other barrier is denial. Gambling addicts believe it is not a disease and that it is impossible to get addicted to it. They lack an internal motivation to seek treatment because they do not see the need for specialized treatment (Çelik et al., 2018). They don’t acknowledge any problems associated with gambling. Therefore, the desire to minimize such problems is absent. They desire to handle everything by themselves and believe they can do so. Such people will only seek treatment after their families or partners compel them.

The other barrier is addicts have issues with the treatment itself. Treatment requires commitment and devoting time to the process. Furthermore, it can cost money hence extra expenses. In such sessions, addicts are told to quit gambling (Çelik et al., 2018). This can be interpreted as being commanded to do something. The other issue is that treatment involves meeting in social groups. Most people prefer individual treatment. Some people have difficulty talking about personal issues, a requirement in treatment programs. The other barrier is peer pressure to continue gambling (Bagot et al., 2020). An addict can also be convinced that gambling is a source of income and that it helps them to get out of debt and serves a purpose. This reduces the likelihood of seeking treatment.

The first strategy that can be used to plan a program to prevent gambling is proper financial management. If one family member is a pathological gambler, someone else should manage their income. Gambling always requires money. If one partner is addicted, the other one should be in charge of financial spending (Loy et al., 2018). This is to ensure that the addict always has a limited amount of cash. This reduces the desire and temptation to engage in gambling activities. If the children are addicted, the amount of money parents give them should be regulated. This strategy stems from the fact that gambling cannot take place without money.

The second strategy is establishing routine family educative forums. During these forums, family members discuss gambling. The risk factors and negative impacts of gambling should be stated. Furthermore, family members should know the alternatives to gambling. Such alternatives include meditation, physical activity, voluntary work, and physical activities (Loy et al., 2018). This strategy aims at helping the family members understand the gambling problem. They are equipped with skills to avoid gambling. This increases the likelihood of seeking help if they find themselves in a gambling problem.

References

Bagot, K. L., Cheetham, A., Lubman, D. I., & Rodda, S. N. (2020). Predictors of strategic engagement for the prevention and reduction of gambling harm: A prospective application of the Theory of Planned Behaviour. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-020-00265-5

Çelik, A., Yaman, H., Turan, S., Kara, A., Kara, F., Zhu, B., Qu, X., Tao, Y., Zhu, Z., Dhokia, V., Nassehi, A., Newman, S. T., Zheng, L., Neville, A., Gledhill, A., Johnston, D., Zhang, H., Xu, J. J., Wang, G., … Dutta, D. (2018). Barriers And Facilitators Of Screening For Problem Gambling: Perspectives From Australian Mental Health Services. Journal of Materials Processing Technology, 1(1), 1–8. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cirp.2016.06.001%0Ahttp://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.powtec.2016.12.055%0Ahttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijfatigue.2019.02.006%0Ahttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.matlet.2019.04.024%0Ahttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.matlet.2019.127252%0Ahttp://dx.doi.org/10.1016

Loy, J. K., Grüne, B., Braun, B., Samuelsson, E., & Kraus, L. (2018). Help-seeking behavior of problem gamblers : a narrative review. 64, 259–272.

Zhai, Z. W., Yip, S. W., Steinberg, M. A., Wampler, J., Hoff, R. A., Krishnan-sarin, S., Potenza, M. N., Haven, N., States, U., Haven, N., States, U., States, U., Services, G., States, U., Mental, C., Haven, N., Haven, N., & States, U. (2018). HHS Public Access. 33(4), 1169–1185. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-017-9670-x.Relationships

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