An All-Female Problem-Gambling Counseling Treatment: Perceptions of Effectiveness

Abstract

Despite the fact that gambling is not gender-specific, the majority of the research in Western culture has focused on the situation of the American male gambler. Women of all ages, income, and culture gamble (Boughton, 2006; Statistics Canada, 2008; Wenzel & Dahl, 2009), thus emerging as the gender most likely to experience gambling difficulties (Li, 2007; Schnell, 2002), while simultaneously being less likely to seek treatment for problem gambling compared with men (Boughton; Volberg, 2003). A logical question arising is, “What intervention mechanisms would support female problem gamblers?” The purpose of this study was to explore women's experiences of all-female group counseling for problem gambling and to identify emergent themes from the women's experience. Participants were in a 12-week women-only treatment group offered through a provincial health agency. A qualitative, thematic analysis using the constant comparison method was conducted with resultant themes and grounded theory, providing insight ...