Casino Gambling Among Older Adults in North Dakota: A Policy Analysis

This article examined social issues surrounding casino gambling among older adults both nationally and in the state of North Dakota. An exploratory review of gambling trends among older adults and an examination of policies to protect older gamblers revealed that older adults are targeted by the gaming industry as a lucrative market (Singh et al. J Retail Leisure Property 2007, 6(1):61–68). The authors used the national literature to frame their qualitative study, which explored gambling issues among older adults in North Dakota from the perspective of six counselors trained in gambling addiction who provide treatment services in the state. Findings indicated that relatively few policies existed at the state and national levels to protect older, more vulnerable adults who gamble. Further, the six casinos in North Dakota were viewed as very effective in marketing their casino gaming opportunities to older citizens by the gambling treatment providers interviewed. Additionally, barriers to gambling addiction treatment involved lack of available services and distance to receive services in this rural state. Based on the findings of this study, social policy changes which could lead to increased protection for older adult gamblers in the state were included.     

Are Irrational Beliefs and Depressive Mood More Common Among Problem Gamblers than Non-Gamblers? A Survey Study of Swedish Problem Gamblers and Controls

This study tests the hypothesis that problem gamblers are more prone to have irrational beliefs and depressed mood than non-gamblers. Irrational beliefs refer to fallacious opinions about probabilities. Gamblers like to believe that chance games (i.e., roulette and lottery) can be controlled and that the outcome of such games is dependent on the patterns of previous outcomes. The empirical material consists of responses to a survey that 302 individuals have answered. Half of the respondents were deemed to be problem gamblers. The results showed that compared to the controls, the problem gamblers were more inclined to show illusion of control due to their skill and reported more depressive mood. The results are discussed in terms of difficulties to know the “hen and the egg” regarding depressive mood, and in terms of intermittent reinforcement to continue gambling.     

Adapted Couple Therapy (ACT) for Pathological Gamblers: A Promising Avenue

The study of the effectiveness of treatment for pathological gambling constitutes a field that is still largely unexplored. To date, the models assessed primarily target the individual and include little or no involvement of the family circle. Yet, the deleterious effects of gambling on loved ones and especially spouses are well recognized. Further, the addition of a couple modality to individual treatment has been shown to be effective on many levels in the treatment of substances use disorders. This article therefore proposes a critical review of (1) the literature providing a better understanding of the complex interactions between the couple relationship and pathological gambling, (2) studies on the effects of couple therapies on gamblers and their partners. We then present the therapeutic model developed by our team of clinician-researchers in collaboration with actors from Québec clinical settings: Adapted Couple Therapy (ACT) for pathological gamblers. In the Québec context, this model will serve as a complement to an individual cognitive-behavioral treatment model that has been proven effective and is employed throughout the Canadian province. The assessment of couple therapies could reveal avenues of solutions to better assist pathological gamblers who tend to drop-out of treatment and relapse.     

The Desire to Gamble: The Influence of Outcomes on the Priming Effects of a Gambling Episode

The influence of gambling outcomes on the efficacy of a short gambling episode to prime motivation to continue gambling was determined in two experiments in which desire to gamble was evaluated while participants played a slot machine located in a virtual reality casino. In experiment 1, 38 high-risk [>3 Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI)] [Ferris and Wynne (The Canadian problem gambling index: final report, 2001)] and 36 non-problem gamblers (0 PGSI) either won or lost a modest amount. Among high-risk gamblers, winning resulted in a greater increase in the desire to continue gambling than did losing. In experiment 2, 39 high-risk, 33 low-risk (0 < PGSI < 3), and 31 non-problem gamblers experienced either a single large win or a series of small wins (equivalent monetary gain). Participants were permitted to continue playing as long as they wanted (all subsequent spins being losses) thus permitting evaluation of persistence (resistance to extinction). Throughout, desire to gamble was assessed using a single item measure. High-risk gamblers who experienced a large win reported significantly greater desire to gamble upon voluntary cessation than those who experienced a series of small wins. It seems that the priming effects of a short gambling episode are contingent on the pattern of outcomes experienced by the gambler. The data were related to motivational factors associated with gambling, gambling persistence, and chasing losses.     

Urge to Gamble in a Simulated Gambling Environment

Cue reactivity, while increasingly recognized as a central feature of drug and alcohol addiction, is not well studied in gambling. We evaluated the urge to gamble in a simulated casino environment among frequent gamblers who alternated between cycles in which they observed others playing ten hands of Blackjack (first, third and fifth cycle) and cycles in which they played ten hands of Blackjack themselves (second and fourth cycle). The played cycles served as a manipulation for the observed cycles in terms of “priming” (having previously gambled in the environment vs. not) and “anticipation” (expecting more opportunities to gamble in the environment vs. not) and, thus, allowed these conditions: observed cycle 1 = anticipation (+) and prime (−); observed cycle 2 = anticipation (+) and prime (+); and observed cycle 3 = anticipation (−) and prime (+). Subjects’ urge to gamble was greater in the gambling environment than in a neutral setting and both positive anticipation and positive priming increased cue reactivity within the gambling environment. The frequency of gambling outside of the study did not affect cue reactivity. However, a preference for Blackjack (vs. other types of gambling) and observing winning (vs. losing) hands were both associated with stronger cue reactivity in the study. These findings contribute to our understanding of pathological gambling.     

Over-the-counter medication and herbal or dietary supplement use in college: dose frequency and relationship to self-reported distress

OBJECTIVE: A growing number of researchers have examined the use of over-the-counter (OTC) medications and herbal or dietary supplements among college students. There is concern about the efficacy and safety of these products, particularly because students appear to use them at a higher rate than does the general public. PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS: The authors administered surveys to college students (N = 201) to assess the frequency of use in the past week. RESULTS: A substantial percentage reported using OTC medications (74.1%), herbal or dietary supplements (70.6%), or both concurrently (61.2%). Dose frequency of OTC medications was the best predictor of self-reported emotional distress in the past week. Higher doses of products containing pseudoephedrine or valerian were associated with self-reported anxiety. CONCLUSIONS: These data further reflect an increasing trend toward self-medication among college students. Investigators must conduct reliability and validity studies to evaluate the clinical utility of the measurement tool developed in this study.     

The role of social work in the context of social disintegration and violence

Violence and the violence discourse are very similar from country to country: focus on youth, preponderance of males among perpetrators and victims, disproportionate involvement of migrants and indigenous people, greater prevalence with socioeconomic disadvantage and low education, and the impact of underlying factors such as political disintegration, exclusion from the consumer lifestyle, and inadequacies of social institutions. In social disintegration theory, the basic explanatory backdrop is the dynamic relationship of integration and disintegration between and within the different spheres: individual and functional system integration, integration into society, and integration into the community. (Relative) exclusion from work, consumption, and democratic processes combined with experience of socioemotional deficits seem to give a particularly strong boost to socially unacceptable forms of particularist integration and to favor collective and individual acceptance of violence. When subjects draw balances of personal recognition and of the achieved and achievable scope to organize their life, the latter orientations appear subjectively more likely to meet their expectations than socially (more) accepted modes of behavior.The central conclusion on social reactions to violence in general and professional social work in particular is that rather than relying on admonishment, punishment, or curative measures, or some combination of these, to combat violence, there is a need for wide-ranging long-term options for those acutely affected and at risk to have the long-term scope to organize their own lives-to experience life control, recognized integration, and development of competences. Those who experience being the organizer of their own life have no need of violence as a form of self-assertion.     

Negotiating reform: young people's leadership in the educational arena

Youth organizing within the institutional context of community-based organizations has grown exponentially. Drawing on interviews with more than eighty organizers, youth, and educators, this article examines young people's experiences as they organize to expand educational opportunities for themselves and their peers in urban school districts. The authors explore educator responses to youth organizing and analyze how race- and class-based assumptions about youth leadership, as well as differing cultural norms between schools and youth organizing groups, pose challenges for young people fighting for education reform. The authors describe three strategies youth organizing groups use to address these challenges: intensive leadership development, targeted relationship building with district administrators, and alliance building. Implications for both educators and youth organizing groups are discussed.