Gamblers Anonymous
Encyclopedia
Gamblers Anonymous is a twelve-step program
for problem gamblers. GA began in Los Angeles
on September 13, 1957. As of 2005 there were over 1000 GA meetings in the United States and meetings established in the United Kingdom
, Spain
, New Zealand
, Australia
, Brazil
, Israel
, Kenya
, Uganda
, Korea
and Japan
. The only requirement for GA membership is a desire to stop gambling. Aside from financial insecurity, problem gambling has been shown to cause dysfunctional families
, legal problems, employment difficulties, psychological distress and higher rates of suicide
and attempted suicide. Less than 10% of those with gambling problems seek treatment for the syndrome. Family members and loved ones of compulsive gamblers attend Gam-Anon, another 12 step, self-help program founded in 1958. There are meetings all over the world. In Gam-Anon members learn to understand the compulsive gambling problem and its impact on their lives, and learn how to give emotional support to the compulsive gambler while not enabling the gambler in his/her illness. GA and Gam-Anon cooperate with each other in their efforts to help the compulsive gambler and loved ones. Children of loved ones can attend Gam-A-Teen, part of the Gam-Anon program. The Gam-Anon website is www.gam-anon.org. The Gamblers Anonymous (GA) website is www.gamblersanonymous.org.
GA spends much of its time and energy counseling members on how to deal with financial and legal problems. GA supports "pressure relief groups" where members take each other to task and encourage them to "get honest" with people in their lives and get their affairs in order. Gamblers who are able to moderate their activity are not likely to continue attending GA meetings. GA members who stopped attending meetings were more likely to consider the sharing at the meetings "meaningless" and were more critical of GA literature. Those who felt particularly elated at their first GA meetings were less likely to continue than those who had a more balanced first impression. GA, therefore, may be most suitable for severe problem gamblers who do not have compounding issues.
(AA). A causal link, however, has not been shown. GA is often described as more secularized than AA.
Among problem gamblers, it has been found that women are more focused on interpersonal issues, and that social issues were more likely to cause them to "relapse." Males more frequently discuss "external concerns" such as jobs and legal problems, and are more likely to relapse because of substance abuse. Therefore, it does seem plausible that GA's downplaying of spiritual, interpersonal, and psychoemotional issues, inhibits its effectiveness for women.
Twelve-step program
A Twelve-Step Program is a set of guiding principles outlining a course of action for recovery from addiction, compulsion, or other behavioral problems...
for problem gamblers. GA began in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
on September 13, 1957. As of 2005 there were over 1000 GA meetings in the United States and meetings established in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
, Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
, Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. The only requirement for GA membership is a desire to stop gambling. Aside from financial insecurity, problem gambling has been shown to cause dysfunctional families
Dysfunctional family
A dysfunctional family is a family in which conflict, misbehavior, and often abuse on the part of individual members occur continually and regularly, leading other members to accommodate such actions. Children sometimes grow up in such families with the understanding that such an arrangement is...
, legal problems, employment difficulties, psychological distress and higher rates of suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
and attempted suicide. Less than 10% of those with gambling problems seek treatment for the syndrome. Family members and loved ones of compulsive gamblers attend Gam-Anon, another 12 step, self-help program founded in 1958. There are meetings all over the world. In Gam-Anon members learn to understand the compulsive gambling problem and its impact on their lives, and learn how to give emotional support to the compulsive gambler while not enabling the gambler in his/her illness. GA and Gam-Anon cooperate with each other in their efforts to help the compulsive gambler and loved ones. Children of loved ones can attend Gam-A-Teen, part of the Gam-Anon program. The Gam-Anon website is www.gam-anon.org. The Gamblers Anonymous (GA) website is www.gamblersanonymous.org.
Incidence rate and evaluation
Problem gambling is estimated to occur in 1.6% of the adult population in the United States. GA has a list of twenty questions that can be used to self-diagnose compulsive gambling. The results from their instrument have correlated strongly with other tests that screen for compulsive gambling (e.g. the Total Sensation Seeking Scale, Boredom Susceptibility, Experience Seeking, South Oaks Gambling Screen, and Disinhibition subscales).Effectiveness
Compared to problem gamblers who do not attend GA, GA members tend to have more severe gambling problems, are older, have higher incomes, are less likely to be single, have more years of gambling problems, have larger debts, have more serious family conflicts, and less serious substance abuse problems. GA may not be as effective for those who have not had significant gambling problems. GA is effective to prevent "relapses" (inability to remain abstinent from gambling), but not as effective when helping members deal with the consequences of their relapse.GA spends much of its time and energy counseling members on how to deal with financial and legal problems. GA supports "pressure relief groups" where members take each other to task and encourage them to "get honest" with people in their lives and get their affairs in order. Gamblers who are able to moderate their activity are not likely to continue attending GA meetings. GA members who stopped attending meetings were more likely to consider the sharing at the meetings "meaningless" and were more critical of GA literature. Those who felt particularly elated at their first GA meetings were less likely to continue than those who had a more balanced first impression. GA, therefore, may be most suitable for severe problem gamblers who do not have compounding issues.
Attrition
Less than 8% of those who initially attend GA remain in the program and abstinent from gambling for over a year. Program participation and abstinence increase if members are involved in additional therapy, or if one or more of their family members are involved in Gam-Anon or Gam-A-Teen.Gender bias
Although the likelihood of attending GA is the same for males and females, GA has been characterized as a predominately male fellowship. The number of female members, however, is increasing and there is an increasing sensitivity within GA to women's attitudes. GA's lack of appeal towards females has been attributed to GA's lack of focus on the principles of spirituality in other twelve-step programs, like Alcoholics AnonymousAlcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous is an international mutual aid movement which says its "primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics achieve sobriety." Now claiming more than 2 million members, AA was founded in 1935 by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith in Akron, Ohio...
(AA). A causal link, however, has not been shown. GA is often described as more secularized than AA.
Among problem gamblers, it has been found that women are more focused on interpersonal issues, and that social issues were more likely to cause them to "relapse." Males more frequently discuss "external concerns" such as jobs and legal problems, and are more likely to relapse because of substance abuse. Therefore, it does seem plausible that GA's downplaying of spiritual, interpersonal, and psychoemotional issues, inhibits its effectiveness for women.
Literature
Gamblers Anonymous has several approved books used as standard literature in the group, these most popular five.Further reading
- Campbell, F., & Lester, D. (1999). The impact of gambling opportunities on compulsive gambling: Journal of Social Psychology Vol 139(1) Feb 1999, 126-127.
- Cunningham, J. A. (2005). Little Use of Treatment Among Problem Gamblers: Psychiatric Services Vol 56(8) Aug 2005, 1024-1025.
- Ferentzy, P., Skinner, W., & Antze, P. (2006). Recovery in Gamblers Anonymous: Journal of Gambling Issues No 17 Aug 2006, No Pagination Specified.
- Getty, H. A., Watson, J., & Frisch, G. R. (2000). A comparison of depression and styles of coping in male and female GA members and controls: Journal of Gambling Studies Vol 16(4) Win 2000, 377-391.