When do gamblers help themselves? Self-discontinuity increases self-directed change over time.
Most disordered gamblers fail to take the necessary action to change their behavior. When action is taken, it is typically done under self-direction. Yet, little is known about what motivates gamblers to engage in self-directed change as researchers have focused almost exclusively on barriers to treatment seeking. Herein, we tested whether self-discontinuity (i.e., the notion that the self has undergone fundamental changes as a result of one's gambling) predicts self-directed change among gamblers experiencing sub-clinical levels of disordered gambling. Further, we tested whether this relationship would hold when controlling for feelings of shame and guilt about one's gambling as well as self-stigma as a disordered gambler (i.e., known barriers to change). To this end, 195 gamblers from the community completed a questionnaire battery that contained the variables of interest. Six months later, participants were re-contacted to assess whether they engaged in self-directed change. As hypothesized, the likelihood that self-directed change was attempted increased to the extent participants reported feeling self-discontinuous - an effect that remained significant when controlling for shame, guilt, and self-stigma. Results suggest that heightening the awareness that the gambling has fundamentally changed the self increases the likelihood of gamblers taking action to change their disordered gambling behaviors.
Addictive Behaviours Laboratory, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive, NW, Calgary, AB T2N1N4, Canada. Electronic address: hyoun.kim@ucalgary.ca.
Hyoun S
HS
Kim
Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, ON K1S 5B6, Canada. Electronic address: michael.wohl@carleton.ca.
Michael J A
MJ
Wohl
Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, ON K1S 5B6, Canada. Electronic address: melissa.salmon@carleton.ca.
Melissa
M
Salmon
University of Winnipeg, 515 Portage Ave, Winnipeg, MB, R3B2E9, Canada. Electronic address: d.santesso@uwinnipeg.ca.
Diane
D
Santesso
D016739:Behavior, Addictive / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D005715:Gambling / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009042:Motivation; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
Barriers to change; Gambling; Natural recovery; Self-directed change; Self-discontinuity