Anonymous Women? A Scoping Review of the Experiences of Women in Gamblers Anonymous (GA)
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Anonymous Women? A Scoping Review of the Experiences of Women in Gamblers Anonymous (GA) Jim Rogers 1
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& Jason Landon & Stephen Sharman & Amanda Roberts
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# The Author(s) 2019
Abstract Women are participating in gambling at levels approaching those of men, and although levels of disordered gambling remain lower in women than in men, significant numbers are affected. Gamblers Anonymous (GA) is a mainstay of help to problem gamblers in many countries. A scoping review was conducted which specifically addressed the experiences of women who attend GA. Within the 25 identified relevant studies, only two reported empirical data on the specific numbers of women attending. A range of barriers still remain to the participation of women in these communities. These include ‘external’ barriers such as lack of referral and signposting, lack of accessible meetings, and costs of travel; ‘internal’ barriers such as shame, stigma, and fear of disclosure; and features of the GA meetings and discourse, such as a climate which is dismissive of women’s experiences. Keywords Gamblers Anonymous . Women . Gender . Disordered gambling . Barriers to participation
Background Gambling has traditionally been a socially acceptable behaviour among men (Potenza et al. 2001; Svensson and Romild 2014). In recent years, gambling environments have changed, making a large range of gambling opportunities more physically and socially accessible than
* Jim Rogers [email protected] Jason Landon [email protected] Stephen Sharman [email protected] Amanda Roberts [email protected] Extended author information available on the last page of the article
International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction
ever before, especially through the internet and the increasing uptake of mobile technologies (Griffiths 1999; Gambling Commission 2018). With a worldwide liberalisation of gambling legislation, changing gender roles, and greater economic resources available to many women, some of the traditional barriers to the participation of women in many gambling activities have been removed (Bowden-Jones and Prever 2017). Hence, the participation of women in gambling activities has steadily increased in recent decades (Abbott et al. 2014; Afifi et al. 2010; Crisp et al. 2004; Wardle and Seabury 2013). The rapid change in the variety and reach of gambling products has been paralleled by changes in harm at a population level. Some studies indicate that both the overall number and the proportion of ‘problem gamblers’ who are women has also increased (Wardle et al. 2011; Conolly et al. 2018). There remains a lack of consensus about exactly what constitutes problematic gambling and a range of definitions and measures have been proposed to assist in elucidating and calculating the size and scale of the problems which can be associated with gambling, whether for the individual, their family, or the wider society. The range of terms includes ‘problem’, ‘pathological’, ‘disordered’, ‘compulsive’, ‘excessive’, and ‘at risk’ (Griffiths 2014). The current
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