http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/0618probgamble18.html
Women and Problem Gambling
About half of the problem gamblers in Arizona are female. Here are some other facts about the women who received state-sponsored treatment from September 2002 to April 2004:
• 36.7 percent are ages 45-54.
• 65.3 percent live in Maricopa County.
• 41.1 percent have a high school diploma or GED, but have no college education.
• 33.3 percent have been diagnosed with depression.
• 50.2 percent have a history of emotional abuse
• 47.5 percent have considered suicide
Source: The Arizona Office of Problem Gambling
Meghan Moravcik
The Arizona Republic
Jun. 18, 2004 12:00 AM
Carol O'Hare walked into her first Gamblers Anonymous meeting and was shocked.
"I found other women there," said O'Hare, a recovering gambling addict, about the 1991 meeting. "Now I'm one of the fortunate ones because I'm able to stand up here and talk about the most significant experience of my life."
O'Hare, along with three other female recovering gambling addicts, spoke Thursday to about 300 people at the 18th-annual Conference on Research, Prevention and Treatment of Problem Gambling at the Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa. They described their struggles with addiction and emphasized that much of the research focuses on men. That is part of the reason O'Hare was so surprised when she saw other women at that first Gamblers Anonymous meeting.
She and the other panelists said researchers need to examine the problems unique to female addicts.
"We're moving beyond the basic question of, 'What is problem gambling?' " said O'Hare, who is executive director of the Nevada Council on Problem Gambling. "We're moving much deeper into understanding the disorder. Ultimately, the goal here is to walk away with more information and more questions, which challenge the professionals to go gather more research."
Female problem gamblers deal with many issues that male gamblers deal with, such as shame and serious financial problems. But in many cases, the issues become much harder for women.
Because women tend to make less money than men in the workforce, it can be more difficult for them to recover from gambling debt, said recovering gambling addict and panelist Judith Niland.
"It seemed that it took the men a lot less time to earn that money back," Niland told the audience. "And they often had two incomes (including their wives'), but I only had mine."
Niland, who has been recovering for more than seven years, gambled through all of her savings and maxed out 17 credit cards.
Women problem gamblers often try to hide their addiction from spouses, relatives and co-workers, and they also try to hide their recovery, panelists said. Some view women as homemakers or mothers and not as people who would create such a destructive path for themselves. So, the image of a female problem gambler evokes a more shameful image than the traditional romantic view of the male gambler, panelist Marilyn Lancelot said.
As a result, female gamblers often don't get as much support from their husbands as male problem gamblers get from their wives.
And the atmosphere of Gamblers Anonymous meetings sometimes can be so intimidating to women that they attend only one or two meetings.
Panelist Paula Burns once went to a meeting and approached a man to shake his hand.
"He said, 'I don't shake hands with women,' and he gave me a big bear hug," Burns said. "I thought, 'No wonder there are no women in recovery.' "
This is why, the panelists agreed, it is important that female-only groups are created.
Lancelot attended several Gamblers Anonymous meetings where women came once and then never came back, so she and a friend started their own women's meetings in her apartment.
Women and Problem Gambling
About half of the problem gamblers in Arizona are female. Here are some other facts about the women who received state-sponsored treatment from September 2002 to April 2004:
• 36.7 percent are ages 45-54.
• 65.3 percent live in Maricopa County.
• 41.1 percent have a high school diploma or GED, but have no college education.
• 33.3 percent have been diagnosed with depression.
• 50.2 percent have a history of emotional abuse
• 47.5 percent have considered suicide
Source: The Arizona Office of Problem Gambling
Meghan Moravcik
The Arizona Republic
Jun. 18, 2004 12:00 AM
Carol O'Hare walked into her first Gamblers Anonymous meeting and was shocked.
"I found other women there," said O'Hare, a recovering gambling addict, about the 1991 meeting. "Now I'm one of the fortunate ones because I'm able to stand up here and talk about the most significant experience of my life."
O'Hare, along with three other female recovering gambling addicts, spoke Thursday to about 300 people at the 18th-annual Conference on Research, Prevention and Treatment of Problem Gambling at the Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa. They described their struggles with addiction and emphasized that much of the research focuses on men. That is part of the reason O'Hare was so surprised when she saw other women at that first Gamblers Anonymous meeting.
She and the other panelists said researchers need to examine the problems unique to female addicts.
"We're moving beyond the basic question of, 'What is problem gambling?' " said O'Hare, who is executive director of the Nevada Council on Problem Gambling. "We're moving much deeper into understanding the disorder. Ultimately, the goal here is to walk away with more information and more questions, which challenge the professionals to go gather more research."
Female problem gamblers deal with many issues that male gamblers deal with, such as shame and serious financial problems. But in many cases, the issues become much harder for women.
Because women tend to make less money than men in the workforce, it can be more difficult for them to recover from gambling debt, said recovering gambling addict and panelist Judith Niland.
"It seemed that it took the men a lot less time to earn that money back," Niland told the audience. "And they often had two incomes (including their wives'), but I only had mine."
Niland, who has been recovering for more than seven years, gambled through all of her savings and maxed out 17 credit cards.
Women problem gamblers often try to hide their addiction from spouses, relatives and co-workers, and they also try to hide their recovery, panelists said. Some view women as homemakers or mothers and not as people who would create such a destructive path for themselves. So, the image of a female problem gambler evokes a more shameful image than the traditional romantic view of the male gambler, panelist Marilyn Lancelot said.
As a result, female gamblers often don't get as much support from their husbands as male problem gamblers get from their wives.
And the atmosphere of Gamblers Anonymous meetings sometimes can be so intimidating to women that they attend only one or two meetings.
Panelist Paula Burns once went to a meeting and approached a man to shake his hand.
"He said, 'I don't shake hands with women,' and he gave me a big bear hug," Burns said. "I thought, 'No wonder there are no women in recovery.' "
This is why, the panelists agreed, it is important that female-only groups are created.
Lancelot attended several Gamblers Anonymous meetings where women came once and then never came back, so she and a friend started their own women's meetings in her apartment.
