Abstract
Objective: This study aimed to understand the factors that may influence how and why people with intellectual disability may engage in gambling.Method: Nineteen people with intellectual disability were recruited from a disability advocacy organization and participated in face to face, semi-structured qualitative interviews. Open ended questions were used to explore participants' gambling participation, recall of, and attitudes toward, different gambling products, understanding of gambling harm, and awareness of responsible gambling messages.Results: All participants could remember gambling in their lifetime and some participants had recently engaged in gambling. Many participants were aware of different gambling products, and a few participants could describe in detail the technical aspects of electronic gambling machines. Most participants did not specifically recall seeing gambling harm minimization messages, however some described engaging in individual responsibility measures, such as limits and control, as they perceived this reduced the risks of experiencing harm.Conclusions: People with intellectual disability are engaging with gambling products in a similar way to the general community. Therefore, it is important to understand the different pathways that may lead people with intellectual disability to initiate and continue gambling and to ensure that they are aware of and protected from the potential risk.Implications for Public Health: Policy makers and practitioners should seek to understand and implement a range of strategies to reduce and prevent the harms associated with particular gambling products and environments for this population sub-group.
Highlights
OverviewLittle is known about the gambling experiences of people with intellectual disability
A person with an intellectual disability may have difficulties with adaptive functioning, including conceptual processing, social skills, communication and independent decision-making potentially placing them at greater risk of gambling harm
When viewed in this way, and in line with Article 19 of the UNCRPD, there is a clear role for society in removing the disabling barriers and restrictions present in societal structures, that preclude a person with intellectual disability’s ability to engage meaningfully within communities of their choice [3]
Summary
OverviewLittle is known about the gambling experiences of people with intellectual disability. With the emergence of the social model of disability and more recently the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) [2], intellectual disability is increasingly seen through an ecological lens, whereby a person’s disability is viewed as an interaction between themselves and the environment in which they live, work and play When viewed in this way, and in line with Article 19 of the UNCRPD, there is a clear role for society in removing the disabling barriers and restrictions present in societal structures, that preclude a person with intellectual disability’s ability to engage meaningfully within communities of their choice [3]. As for all citizens, such meaningful community engagement is enhanced when a person has equal access to public health resources, supports and information, including evidence-based messaging relating to gambling harm
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