Improved outcomes following contact with a gambling helpline: the impact of gender on barriers and facilitators

Abstract

Gambling helplines were developed at a time when evidence for help-seeking was almost entirely based on male gamblers and there is limited evidence that helplines have changed in response to the exponential increase in female gamblers over the past 20 years. The current study aimed to explore the impact of gender on calls to Australian helplines, including caller characteristics, barriers and facilitators to contact as well as call outcomes. We surveyed 170 callers (94% problem gamblers, 61% male) approximately 1 month following their helpline call and found gender differences in terms of age, preferred gambling type, employment and source of referral. Males reported barriers related to pride and problem denial more frequently than females did, and also reported more frequent problems associated with the welfare of others and/or their living arrangements that facilitated their calling. Males and females were equally likely to seek further help from formal, informal and self-help resources. With only 10% of callers not accessing further help, these findings highlight the importance of helplines as a key support for both men and women with gambling problems.

Keywords:

• gambling
• helpline
• treatment
• barriers
• gender
• characteristics

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Simone N. Rodda

Simone Rodda is a research fellow with 14 years of experience in the delivery of problem gambling treatment, education and research as well as the service co-ordination of distance based clinical programmes. She is currently completing her PhD in the effectiveness of web-based counselling for problem gambling that has involved qualitative and quantitative approaches.

Nerilee Hing

Nerilee Hing, PhD, is director of the Centre for Gambling Education and Research at Southern Cross University Australia. Her major focus is on research that informs policy and practice to enhance social responsibility in gambling and to address problem gambling.

Dan I. Lubman

Dan Lubman is the director of Turning Point and Professor of Addiction Studies and Services at Monash University. He has worked across mental health and addiction treatment settings in Australia and the UK. He is regularly contacted for policy advice and community comment, and sits on numerous State and Commonwealth expert reference committees.