Australian Study Shows Problem Gambling Symptom of Larger Illness
Echoing similar findings from studies concluded earlier this year, another scientific experiment has found that problem gambling may be a symptom of deeper problems rather than the cause.
Melbourne psychologists studied over 2000 residents of Victoria, and found compulsive gamblers were 18 times more likely to have experienced psychological distress than the average person, more than 4 times as likely to have a problem with alcohol abuse, and twice as likely to be depressed.
The Problem Gambling Research and Treatment Centre doscovered that 70% of problem gamblers were depressed, over half used alcohol to dangerous levels, and over a third had severe mental illness.
Professor Shane Thomes referred to a study conducted earlier in the year in the U.S., previously covered by Online Casino Authority, that found mental health problems generally preceded incidents of problem gambling.
In essence, problem gambling occurs when illness already exists, and attempting to treat the problem through gambling education, or, worse yet, gambling eradication, ignores the underlying cause or disease.
"Education programs that appeal to a gambler's rational decision making are not going to be as effective if the real problem is associated not with behavioral choices, but with underlying depression or other mental health problems," Professor Thomas said.
The use of wagering to escape stress and tension may appear as a gambling problem, but Thomas suggested therapy designed to relieve and identify the initial causes of stress may be far more effective than any gambling-related treatment, or moral crusade to banish gambling.
