Stigma-related predictors of help-seeking for problem gambling

Abstract

Stigma has been identified as a common barrier to help-seeking for problem gambling behaviors, and it is estimated that globally, only 20% of those who experience gambling problems seek help. Despite existing knowledge that stigma can play a substantial role in peoples’ willingness to seek help, there is a paucity of gambling-related research focused on stigma. In order to improve understanding of the relationships between problem gambling, gambling-related stigma, and help-seeking, this study aimed to examine how different types of stigma and various ways of coping with stigma relate to help-seeking behavior. A sample of N = 355 people who had experienced past six-month problem gambling (n = 47 help-seekers and n = 308 non-help-seekers) completed an online survey about their gambling and help-seeking behaviors and experiences with gambling-related stigma. Results showed that help-seeking was positively predicted by experienced stigma, negatively predicted by ostracism-related perceived stigma, and negatively predicted by the use of secrecy to cope with stigma. Implications of this research include an improved understanding of the relationship between stigma and help-seeking behavior, which can inform the development of more effective treatment strategies for individuals who seek help for problem gambling.

Keywords:

• Gambling
• problem gambling
• stigma
• coping
• help-seeking
• treatment

Acknowledgements

This manuscript is based on RDL’s master’s thesis, which was submitted to the University of Calgary’s electronic repository of theses and dissertations called The Vault: Electronic Theses and Dissertations. This repository is publicly available, and students are required to submit their theses and dissertations to this repository for degree completion. Otherwise, we confirm that this work has not been published elsewhere.

Ethical approval

The study methods were approved by the University of Calgary Conjoint Faculties Research Ethics Board (REB20-1591). All participants were informed of the content and expectations of the study, and all participants provided informed consent before starting the study.

Author contributions

RDL: Conceptualization, methodology, formal analysis, investigation, data curation, writing – original draft, project administration, and funding acquisition. DSM: Conceptualization, methodology, writing – review editing, supervision, and funding acquisition. Both co-authors contributed to reviewing and editing the manuscript and approved the final draft.

Disclosure statement

RDL has received scholarship funding from the Alberta Gambling Research Institute. DSM discloses a speaker’s honorarium from Spectrum Therapeutics.

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available in the Open Science Framework repository, https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/GM9UP

Open Scholarship

This article has earned the Center for Open Science badges for Open Data through Open Practices Disclosure. The data are openly accessible at https://osf.io/gm9up/files/osfstorage.

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by the Alberta Gambling Research Institute.