The conceptualisation of problem gambling in social services: email interviews with Finnish social services directors

Abstract

Research on handling problem gambling has mostly been concentrated on therapeutic treatment and individual psychotherapy. The treatment focus, however, underscores the financial troubles of problem gamblers. In the Nordic welfare state, citizens’ financial problems fall under the umbrella of social services. Eleven Finnish social services directors were interviewed via email or telephone on their professional experiences with problem gambling and about the support methods available in their institutions. The social services directors believed that gambling problems are rooted in the contemporary consumer society with its financial inequality and pressures of belonging. They had no shared definition or method of recognising problem gambling. Despite being in a supervisory position, the social services directors were unable to give an estimate of the degree of problem gambling among their institution’s clients. A register of cases related to problem gambling in Finnish social services seems necessary. The results indicate, furthermore, that tools should be developed for the early identification of problem gambling in social services as well as for improvement of the linkage between the financial support of social services and therapeutic treatment in specialised centres.

Keywords:

• Gambling
• problem gambling
• social administration
• email interviews
• Finland

Notes

1. The questions were:

1. Background information of the social service director (age, education, work experience and knowledge about problem gambling)?

2. What kind of phenomenon is excessive gambling in Finland?

3. What social problems are caused by excessive gambling and what is known about them? How substantial or severe problem this is?

4. How should the problems (especially financial problems) caused by excessive gambling be responded to?

5. What financial or social help is available for the problems caused by excessive gambling?

6. What kinds of societal or cultural change and what other phenomena (social problems) are excessive gambling attached to?

7. How do you think the situation will develop in the future in Finland and in other countries? What discussion there has been about problem gambling at your workplace?

8. Do you have other thoughts related to this topic?

2. The coding and analysis was conducted solely by the first author.

3. Until the end of 2016, social assistance was granted through municipalities, and from the beginning of 2017, basic social assistance is now granted by the Social Insurance Institution of Finland (Kela). Municipalities continued to be responsible for granting supplementary and preventive social assistance. (Ministry of Social Affairs and Health n.d.-a). The data for this study were collected during the time, when basic social assistance was also the responsibility of the municipalities.