Exploring the relationship UK male gamblers have with money.
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Exploring the relationship that UK based men, who identify as having a gambling disorder, have with money – An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis
IRAS ID
236166
Contact name
Sarah Callman
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Head of the School of Social Sciences, London Metropolitan University
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 10 months, 0 days
Research summary
The gambling industry is a multi-billion pound industry offering diverse opportunities to gamble. The majority of the adult population has gambled at some point in their lives with 1-2% of the UK population having a gambling problem. Currently the DSM 5 describes a gambling disorder as a ‘substance related disorder’, however a number of alternative theories have been proffered including psychoanalytic and cognitive theories as well as some biopsychosocial models which attempt to explain problem gambling as a heterogeneous condition consisting of sub-groups of factors rather than a homogenous condition.
Heterogeneity is more in line with the counselling psychology ethos of intersubjectivity experience and meaning making by an individual, by drawing on a number of relevant theories, models and practices to try and make sense of this complex client group. Attempting to identify a sole explanation limits our ability to meet the complex needs of our clients.
Money has been shown to be a powerful motivator of behaviour, sustaining, a prominent feature within contemporary society with individuals applying a number of meanings to money which include social acceptability, power, security, freedom and love. Given the prevalence of problem gambling and increasing rise of opportunities to gamble, this study seeks to explore the experience of money for UK based males identifying as problem gamblers providing them with a voice to articulate their subjective experience which in turn may help to contribute towards better understanding of problem gamblers distress, improving treatment outcomes and informing evidence-based research.REC name
London - Stanmore Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
17/LO/2094
Date of REC Opinion
24 Jan 2018
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion