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Patterns of Family and Intimate Partner Violence in Problem Gamblers

Version 2 2024-06-05, 09:35
Version 1 2019-06-27, 14:16
journal contribution
posted on 2024-06-05, 09:35 authored by A Suomi, Nicki DowlingNicki Dowling, S Thomas, M Abbott, M Bellringer, M Battersby, J Koziol-McLain, T Lavis, AC Jackson
While the evidence about the statistical co-occurrence of family violence and problem gambling is growing, the mechanism by which the two behaviours are related is less clear. This study sought to clarify the dynamics of the problem behaviours, including the role of gender in victimisation and perpetration of violence in the family. Two-hundred-and-twelve treatment seeking problem gamblers (50.5% females) were recruited for interviews about past year FV and IPV experiences. The interviews included questions about the types of FV and IPV using the HITS tool (Sherin et al. in Fam Med Kans City 30:508-512, 1998). The questions addressed multiple family members, the temporal order of violence and gambling and the perceived associations between the two behaviours. The result show that well over half (60.8%; 95 CI = 54.1-67.2) of the participants reported some form of violence in the past 12 months, with no gender differences in relation to perpetration and victimisation. Bidirectional violence (43.9%; 95 CI = 37.4-50.6) was significantly more common than 'perpetration only' (11.3%; 95 CI = 7.7-16.3) or 'victimisation only' (5.7%; 95 CI = 3.3-9.6). Violence was mostly verbal, although considerable rates of physical violence also featured in the responses. 'Participants' own gambling preceded violence in a majority of the interviews but a small group of IPV victims reported that being a victim had led to their problematic gambling. These results can be used inform prevention, better treatment matching and capacity building in family violence and problem gambling services, where a significant focus should be on situational IPV.

History

Journal

Journal of gambling studies

Volume

35

Pagination

465-484

Location

United States

ISSN

1050-5350

eISSN

1573-3602

Language

English

Publication classification

C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal

Copyright notice

2018, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature

Issue

2

Publisher

SPRINGER