Researchers around the world are searching for ways to create more effective methods for treating problem gamblers. At Canada’s University of Lethbridge, researchers have made a discovery that could improve the way in which women respond to treatment for compulsive gambling behaviour. Noella Piquette and Erika Norman decided to study the challenges that women face when undergoing problem gambling treatment.
According to Piquette, all treatment methods are targeted towards males, so the research team wanted to obtain a female perspective on gambling addiction treatment as well as the development of problem gambling in women. They were also interested in how women seek out problem gambling treatment and their experiences with counselling.
“We need to find out what is effective for women therapeutically,” Piquette said in an interview with the Lethbridge Herald. “We still sit very much in a male model for most therapeutic interventions and a medical model, at that.” The researchers studied women who were undergoing treatment at an addiction agency in Calgary.
Their findings concluded that women experienced greater success when they were in all-female groups rather than mixed-gender groups. They found that their personal experiences as women were respected and recognized in all-female groups, whereas they were ignored in the mixed-gender groups.
In groups with other women, they found that their peers identified with the fact that looking after children and managing households complicated their situations. Within these groups, female problem gamblers needed to establish a connection before opening up to their peers. They preferred to share their everyday experiences before speaking about their struggles with addiction.
The study also found that women are more attracted to bingo and slots while men play poker and other card games. As such, members of mixed-gender groups do not completely identify with one another. The research shows that there is a need for more gender-specific treatment for problem gamblers. Both males and females would benefit more from undergoing treatment with other members of their own sex, ultimately improving their success.
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