WOMEN’S EXPERIENCES OF GAMBLING AND PROBLEM GAMBLING Ruth E. Berry, Cheryl Fraehlich and Sheila Toderian University of Manitoba June, 2002 TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................................v About the Authors............................................................................................................................v ABSTRACT.....................................................................................................................................6 INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND……………………………………………………… 8 Study Location.....................................................................................................................9 PURPOSE AND GOALS ..............................................................................................................11 REVIEW OF LITERATURE ........................................................................................................12 Women and Gambling .......................................................................................................13 Previous Findings ..............................................................................................................15 The Connection between Gambling and Financial Insolvency .........................................18 RESEARCH QUESTIONS ...........................................................................................................21 METHODS ....................................................................................................................................22 Primary Data Sources ........................................................................................................22 The Phone-In..........................................................................................................22 In-depth Interviews...............................................................................................23 Observation Data ...............................................................................................24 Secondary Data Sources ………………………………………………………………24 Data Analysis.....................................................................................................................25 Observation Data ...................................................................................................25 Bankruptcy Files and Ontario Problem Gambling Helpline Information..............25 Lake of the Woods Addiction Services File Data..................................................26 Phone-In Data ........................................................................................................26 In-depth Interviews................................................................................................27 Rigour ................................................................................................................................28 FINDINGS FROM OBSERVATION, BANKRUPTCY, AND HELPLINE DATA: ..................29 Observation Data ...............................................................................................................29 Bankruptcy Data ................................................................................................................34 Ontario Problem Gambling Helpline Data ........................................................................36 ii FINDINGS FROM FILE, PHONE-IN, AND INTERVIEW DATA: ANSWERING THE RESEARCH QUESTIONS 39 THE WOMEN WHO GAMBLE .........................................................................................39 Lake of the Woods Addiction Services File Data..................................................39 The Phone-In..........................................................................................................41 In-depth Interviews................................................................................................43 WOMEN’S PERCEPTION OF GAMBLING ACTIVITIES................................................45 Lake of the Woods Addiction Services File Data..................................................45 Motivation to Gamble ...............................................................................45 Gambling Concerns ...................................................................................46 Other Life Issues/Concerns........................................................................48 The Phone-In .........................................................................................................50 Motivation ............................................................................................50 Impact of Gambling ...................................................................................51 In-depth Interviews:...............................................................................................54 Motivation to Gamble................................................................................54 Location .....................................................................................................67 Changes over Time in Gambling ...............................................................68 Attractions to Venues.................................................................................70 Concerns about Gambling..........................................................................77 THE EXTENT OF HELP-SEEKING AND SUPPORT ACCESS BY WOMEN..................90 Lake of the Woods Addiction Services File Data..................................................90 The Phone-In..........................................................................................................90 In-depth Interviews................................................................................................92 HOW BEST CAN NEEDS BE MET FOR WOMEN WITH GAMBLING PROBLEMS ? 95 The Phone-In .........................................................................................................95 In-depth Interviews ...............................................................................................98 DISCUSSION..............................................................................................................................100 The Women Who Gamble ...............................................................................................100 Women’s Perceptions ......................................................................................................101 Help-Seeking ...................................................................................................................104 How to Meet Needs .........................................................................................................105 CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS...................................................................................107 Limitations . 109 Suggestions for Further Research . .110 Specific Recommendations . .112 BIBLIOGRAPHY........................................................................................................................115 iii APPENDICES .............................................................................................................................119 Appendix A: The Phone-In Schedule Appendix B: The In-depth Interview Schedule Appendix C: The Observation Schedule iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors wish to thank all those who have made this work possible. Our funder, the Ontario Problem Gambling Research Centre, and their staff of Rob Simpson, Judith GlynWilliams, and Erika Veri Levett, have supported this study. Cheryl Koster and Jackie Lemaire, graduate students in Family Studies, worked as transcribers, literature searchers, observers, interviewers, data analysts, and in many other roles during the study. Our Kenora colleagues, Marlene Mymryk, Director of the Lake of the Woods Addiction Centre, and David Courtney, Program Manager, Grand Council Treaty #3, Gambling Addictions Awareness Initiative, facilitated our work in Ontario. Klinic Community Health Centre and their staff members, Tim Wall, Donna Reid, and the capable crisis counsellors who answered the calls on the Phone-In, we thank you. The staff at L.C. Taylor and Company, Trustees in Bankruptcy, including Leigh Taylor, Bonnie Hooley, and Scott Furman, were unfailingly generous and helpful in allowing us access to their data. We appreciate help from the radio and television stations and the print media in Northwest Ontario who supported our advertising for participants in the study. We also thank our friends who distributed the Phone-In posters in many small communities in the region and the agencies that permitted us to display them. The University of Manitoba support staff have been of great assistance, including Laura Deen, Budgets and Grants; Pam Gauthier, Office Assistant in Family Studies; Pat Sanders, Editor; and Karen Armstrong, who designed the report cover. We appreciate the helpful comments of the anonymous reviewers at all stages of the work. Most importantly, we thank the women of Northwest Ontario who shared their experiences so generously with us. About the Authors Ruth E. Berry, PhD, is a Professor of Family Studies and was Principal Investigator for the study. She may be reached at [email protected] or through the Department of Family Studies, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2. Cheryl Fraehlich, MSc, is a Sessional Instructor in Family Studies and was the Research Associate for this study. She may be reached at [email protected]