“CHILDREN AND GAMBLING ADDICTIONS: TOMORROW’S NEXT PROBLEM”
Peter Andrew Sacco, Ph.D.
February 16, 2007, American Chronicle
So much concern is placed on the individual who has a gambling addiction. Of course, treating an individual with a gambling addiction is very important. What about the families of those with gambling addictions? Often times as a society we forget about the loved ones of those with addictions. Like alcoholism, concern must be shown for the family members of those with gambling addictions.
I have heard so many anecdotal stories, fact and fiction about how gamblers attend places like casinos and Bingos and leave their children in the car while they go and engage in their habit or addiction. I have also heard stories of how some gamblers blow their weekly savings or social security cheques on gambling. Instead of buying food and clothing for their children, many spend it on gambling, as well as alcohol and cigarettes, the other two vices which often times trigger and co-exist with gambling addictions.
There is no doubt that gambling is a mental illness. No matter how hard people try to avoid gambling, they seem to find their way back to their specific gambling niche. Gambling is a very unique addiction in that anything can become a potential wager! Think about it…a gambler is trying to kick the addiction and is doing well. Whenever someone is striving for total abstinence, they are to avoid any and all triggers and stimulus which are associated with gambling. So, you have this individual who does not buy lottery tickets, avoids raffles and most of all, avoids casinos. They are doing really well. One day, a friend or co-worker challenges them to something saying…” I’ll bet you a cup of coffee I can get my work done faster than you..” or something like that. As harmless as this sounds, this has the potential for the gambler to throw themselves right back into their addiction. Remember, it is usually not the winning or losing which produces the high, rather the anticipation and adrenaline rush which satiates and drives the gambler. In reality, they are always one wager away from falling back into the vice.
Gamblers have to be aware at all times what there addiction means to the loved ones around them. Often times, addicts neglect their loved ones either emotionally and/or physically. Children are affected the most. Children are not able to think logically and abstractly and often times perceive themselves as a contributing factor toward their parent’s miserable moods. Addictions have a powerful influence on a child’s self-esteem and self-confidence. The attitudes and beliefs children develop being around an individual with a chronic addiction often times leads to problematic behaviors in the child.
All addictions are bad and very detrimental to one’s health. Gambling however is one of those types of addictions where immediate effects are felt in the family. Bottom line: You can lose your house and the shirt off of your back in minutes. More so with gambling than the other addictions are there greater consequences. In other addictions, it usually takes time for the individual to progress and develop a tolerance, whereby they require more and more to produce the same high. Eventually, they hit rock bottom in time. With gambling, one doesn’t have to wait to hit rock bottom over a period of time.
One can go from financially secure to broke in a matter of minutes. With many addictions, addicts take a false sense of pride in trying to cover it up. With gambling, addicts feel a false sense of pride when they are losing and for many, they this pride kicks into desperation as they try to recoup their loses. They bargain with themselves and feel the need to win back what they lost, if not for themselves, for their family. I have heard stories about people losing so much money in one gambling episode, they could not face their loved ones and they chose to run away or even commit suicide.
When I hear stories about people trying to support themselves and families through gambling, it makes me cringe. In essence, those using entire social security cheques, unemployment cheques, and savings to “better” their lives are only fooling themselves. Worst of all, they literally are “gambling” with their children’s lives! There is a famous quote which asserts, “today’s catchers are tomorrow’s pitchers”. This translated… children and teens learn through what they see and who they look up too! Don’t believe me, refer to Albert Bandura’s Social Learning Theory.
On-line gaming has become one of Internet’s biggest businesses next to pornography. Every child and teen from this generation on will be exposed to on-line gaming. The amount of children and teens playing on-line games is staggering. At what point will children and teens stumble into on-line gaming, or better yet find it purposefully because their parent(s) taught them gambling was a great, exciting activity?
As Editor-in-Chief of Vices magazine and President of the Vices Foundation (www.vicesmagazine.com) I am concerned with our most prized possession and resource, children. Children truly are our future. We have reaped and raped our planet, environment and earth of natural resources and nature’s wonders. Children are a commodity to be loved, cherished and mentored. We need to monitor today’s child and prevent them from becoming tomorrow’s problem gambler! If anyone wants to join our foundation which focuses on addiction, habits and mental health, I invite you to visit www.vicesmagazine.com or e-mail me at psychedr@caninet.com. We are always looking for new writers who have something positive to say, fundraisers and volunteers who want to help out in some capacity, and people helping us help others with illness. I extend my gratitude and warmest regards to your continued happiness and good health!
American Chronicle
ED. I have a problem with the statement: “There is no doubt that gambling is a mental illness.” It is my opinion that gambling and problem gambling, like alcohol and drug problems, exist along a continuum from not gambling at all to spending much of one’s time, energy and resources in gambling activities (problem/pathological gambling). Imagine if the author stated categorically: “There is no doubt the drinking alcohol is a mental illness”. This simply is not true. Many people drink alcohol socially, with meals and in moderation. Conversely, many people do gamble (play the lottery, etc.) without harming themselves or others.
Another problem with such a categorical statement, in my opinion, is that it lumps all forms of gambling into one category. The current research in the problem gambling field indicates that Electronic Gambling Machines (EGMs) or slots/video lottery terminals have the highest risk potential for gambling addiction at this time.
