Commentary: Gambling addicts include older adults
A UMNS Commentary
By the Rev. Andrew J. Weaver and Dr. Harold G. Koenig*
March 28, 2007
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Wider access to gambling through
the Internet and other outlets are among the causes of increasing
gambling addiction rates. Almost 2 percent of
adults in North America
are pathological gamblers.
A UMNS photo by
Mike DuBose.
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The marked increase in places and ways to gamble over the past 15 years
has been accompanied by a more frequent addiction to gambling among
older adults.
The faith community must be informed about the negative effects of such gambling.
Signs of gambling-related problems are not well known, nor does the
general public understand that gambling can be addictive. We live in a
society that spends more than $500 billion annually on some form of
gambling - more than we spend on movies, sporting events, concerts and
theater combined.
Pathological gambling is the diagnostic term for a gambling
addiction. According to the American Psychiatric Association, it is
"persistent and recurrent maladaptive gambling behavior" that continues
despite adverse consequences that disrupt a person's life.
Approximately 2.5 million adults in North America (between 1.6
percent and 1.9 percent) suffer from pathological gambling, with an
additional 5.3 million adults (3.9 percent) at risk for the disorder. By
comparison, the rate of cocaine abuse or dependence is estimated at 0.2
percent.
In a survey of 343 adults ages 60 years and older attending senior
centers and other community activities, 6.4 percent were classified as
problem gamblers and an additional 3.8 percent as pathological gamblers.
Pathological and problem gambling among older adults has destructive
consequences including stress, alcohol abuse, loss of income and assets
and increased psychiatric problems.
Addicted older gamblers are much more likely than older adults
without a history of gambling to have disorders associated with alcohol
(53.2 percent versus 12.8 percent), nicotine (43.2 percent versus 8
percent), illicit drugs (4.6 percent versus 0.7 percent), mood (39.5
percent versus 11 percent), anxiety (34.5 percent versus 11.6 percent),
and personality (43.0 percent versus 7.3 percent).
From social activity to addiction
Like alcohol, gambling is a social activity for most people. For some
older people who are widowed or live away from relatives, gamblers and
the people who work in gambling establishments become their source of
social support. Thus, gambling activities become part of a much larger
social interaction that may meet deep psychological needs. However, it
is devastatingly addictive for a significant minority.
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Dr. Harold G. Koenig
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Most compulsive gamblers say they seek the "high" of betting through
increasing the amounts of money they wager. They tend to "chase" the
losses of one day with increased betting on the next. Experts argue that
gambling for some individuals is no less potent than heroin or cocaine
and that gambling is the fastest growing addiction in the United States.
Access to organized gambling has exploded. In 1988, only two states
had large-scale casino gambling; now 28 states have it. Forty states and
the District of Columbia operate a lottery, and some form of gambling
is legal in 48 states.
Advertisements for online gambling sites appear all over the
Internet, and hundreds of Web sites offer online gambling for real
money. Online bettors gamble at the rate of about $10 billion a year and
that number is growing fast.
Religion is a protective factor
Researchers are finding that religious involvement can be a
protective factor against problem gambling. In a nationwide sample of
U.S. adults, religious attendance was inversely associated with the risk
of problem gambling.
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The Rev. Andrew J. Weaver
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Sociologists at the University of Texas found results in a statewide
survey suggesting that religious attendance and belief in the Bible are
inversely associated with the frequency of playing the state lottery, as
well as the amount of money spent on the lottery.
In two other studies, among individuals in Nevada and Australia, the
frequency of gambling and the amount of money gambled was inversely
related to the level of importance of religion for the person and the
frequency of attendance at religious services.
Seeking treatment
Treatment of pathological gambling is often patterned after the
treatment of alcohol and drug addictions. Like drug abusers, compulsive
gamblers tend to deny the problem and avoid finding help.
Gamblers Anonymous, or GA, is a 12-step group that encourages members
to admit their problem and gives group support to help participants
gain control over their addiction. GA members recognize the loss of
reality brought by compulsive gambling and confront their own distorted
thinking.
Family members seeking group support can join Gam-Anon, which is modeled after Alanon.
Compulsive gamblers must stop living in the fantasy world of the
addiction and confront the reality of the consequences of their
gambling.
“Like alcohol, gambling is a social
activity for most people. For some older people who are widowed or live
away from their relatives, gamblers and the people who work in gambling
establishments become their source of social support.”
Cognitive and behavioral therapies can be used to reframe thinking
patterns and change habits that promote gambling behavior. Patients are
taught to identify and record situations that trigger the compulsion to
gamble and recognize the distorted thinking that they can win against
the odds. These treatments have been tested and shown to work.
In a recent study of Canadian men who entered treatment for
pathological gambling using a cognitive-behavioral model that included
relapse prevention training, 86 percent were no longer gambling a year
after treatment.
Gambling is a real problem that has serious negative consequences for
many elderly people. It is important that clergy and church members be
informed about the dangers and how to offer guidance in finding help.
*Weaver is a United Methodist pastor and a clinical psychologist
living in New York City. Koenig is professor of psychiatry and associate
professor of medicine, and co-director, Center for Spirituality,
Theology and Health, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, N.C.
News media contact: Kathy L. Gilbert, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
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Resources
Center on Aging and Older Adult Ministries
Global Action on Aging
Gambling: Overview
Gamblers Anonymous
Institute for Research on Pathological Gambling and Related Disorders
National Coalition Against Legalized Gambling
Gambling and Older Adults | 
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