The Social Construction of the Pathological Gambler's Identity and Its Relationship With Social Adaptation: Narratives From Members of Italian Gambling Anonymous and Gam-Anon Family Groups

Abstract

According to a socio-constructionist perspective, pathological gamblers' ''subjectivities'' emerge out of social networks and networks of meaning-making in which scientists, politicians, health services, and common people take an active part. We are interested in showing how a legitimated view (socio-cultural model) of problem gambling as a disease affects the way in which the members of Gamblers Anonymous (GA) self-groups understand and present their identity and talk about their problem and the help they have received. The work is based on a qualitative analysis of 35 in-depth, semi-structured, open-ended interviews, 25 with gamblers who attend Italian GA self-help groups and 10 with gamblers' relatives who attend Gam-Anon family groups. The main themes arising from the interviews show how a dominant view of problem gambling as a lifelong chronic illness opens the door to reconciliation with oneself and one's relatives. This work provides insights into the close relationship between acculturation to a pathological identity, moral reconciliation, and ''social belonging'' that occurs through conforming to the GA group.Keywords: culture, problem gambling, identity construction, Gambling Anonymous groups, Gam-Anon family groups, pathological identity, social adapting Résumé Selon un point de vue socio-constructiviste, les )subjectivités* des joueurs pathologiques émergent des réseaux sociaux et des réseaux de création de sens dans lesquels les scientifiques, les politiciens, les services de santé et les personnes ordinaires participent activement. Nous sommes intéressés à montrer comment une vision légitimée (modèle socio-culturel) du jeu problématique en tant que maladie affecte la fac¸on dont les membres des groupes autonomes de Gamblers Anonymes (GA) comprennent et présentent leur identité et parlent de leur problème et de l'aide qu'ils ont rec¸u. Le travail est basé sur une analyse qualitative de 35 entrevues approfondies, semistructurées et ouvertes, 25 avec des joueurs qui fréquentent des groupes d'entraide italiens de GA et 10 avec des parents de joueurs qui fréquentent des groupes familiaux Gam-Anon. Les principaux thèmes découlant des entrevues montrent comment une vision dominante du jeu problématique en tant que maladie chronique tout au long de la vie ouvre la voie à la réconciliation avec soi-même et avec ses proches. Ce travail donne un aperc¸u de la relation étroite entre l'acculturation à une identité pathologique, une réconciliation morale et une )appartenance sociale* qui se produit en se conformant au groupe GA.

Anonymous Women? A Scoping Review of the Experiences of Women in Gamblers Anonymous (GA)

“…Several other studies, whilst not looking at GA per se, recruited participants from GA for investigation of specific gambling issues and reported on the respective numbers of men and women. The proportion of women in the GA samples in those studies ranged from 4% (Venuleo andMarinaci 2017) to 42% (McGrath et al 2018). In sum, the data suggests that the proportion of those attending GA who are women varies significantly across studies.…”

“…In a paper which discussed changes to the way in which GA operates, they suggest that a key change in the GA dynamic is an increasing proportion of women attenders, noting that it had moved to a level of around 20% in the Toronto area (Ferentzy, Skinner, Antze 2009). More recently, Venuleo and Marinaci (2017) reported just one woman within sample of 25 GA attenders in Italy (4%), and Rogers (2018) observed that 28 of 278 separate attendances at a series of GA meetings were by women (10%), although the majority of these were supporters of men who were also attending the same meetings.…”

Caring for Daughters with Anorexia Nervosa: A Qualitative Study on Parents’ Representation of the Problem and Management of the Disorder

“…Narratives are how people make sense of their experiences of illness [ 20 ]. From a cultural and social constructive perspective [ 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 ], the ways in which people experience a disease can be understood as an intimate part of the social system of meaning [ 27 , 28 ]. In this paper, the lens of semiotic cultural psychological theory (SCPT) [ 29 , 30 , 31 ] is adopted.…”

Irrational Beliefs and Social Adaptation of Online Sports Gamblers According to Addiction Level: A Comparative Study

“…In terms of social adaptation, a person's attitude, values, or thoughts have a considerable impact on how he/she adapts to a given situation [45]. Moreover, Venuleo and Marinaci argued that in most social science fields, a person's inner psychological state has an effect on his/her social adaptation and serves as an important variable for his/her living a normal and healthy life [46]. In this respect, Weissman argued that social adaptation is a very comprehensive concept that not only reflects an individual's adaptation to the social environment, but also includes performance and satisfaction with one's social role and interpersonal relationships [47].…”