Developmental pathways to pathological gambling and reasons for treatment seeking in a Greek rural sample

ABSTRACT

Aim

The aim of this study is to understand the developmental pathways of pathological gambling and reasons for treatment seeking.

Methods

Qualitative study featuring the use of semi-structured interviews of 32 adults who gambled pathologically and participated in treatment groups at KETHEA’s ARIADNI Open Care Unit in Heraklion Crete, Greece.

Results

Onset of gambling varied from 13 to 37 years of age, with the majority reporting starting gambling at 15, mainly through betting. Pathological gambling onset age ranges from 20 to 30 years. The most frequent reasons that were reported to contribute in the establishment of excessive betting were traumatic experiences due to death or other loss, marital partnership dysfunctions, and lack of job satisfaction. Most participants asked for professional help between two (2) to 10 years after the establishment of pathological gambling. Most reported that they were motivated to seek treatment by significant others (family, friends). In addition, the majority reported that they used to punt at that time of seeking treatment.

Conclusions

Pathological gambling follows a developmental pathway, unique for each case, where certain factors relevant to gambling establishment seem to play a significant role. Thus, they should be taken into consideration in any prevention and treatment efforts.

KEYWORDS:

• Pathological gambling
• developmental pathways
• treatment seeking

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank KETHEA for the valuable assistance in data collection through the license given to conduct interviews with members of KETHEA ARIADNI’s Open Care Unit of Heraklion Crete, treatment groups for pathological gambling, and also George Fassoulakis for his contribution in the language editing of the finalized paper.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.