Dr.Ph. Kosichenko I.F. Shljafer E.V.
South-Russia state university
of economics and services, Russia
Social Problems of Craving for Gambling
Health
- one of the highest human values, a source of happiness, pleasure, a pledge of
optimum realization of a person.
There
is only one way to be healthy and to provide health to your posterity - to be
able to keep and strengthen your own health.
The
most proper model of person’s normative behaviour in this area would be the
absence of dependence that means that a person completely supervises his/her own
acts, is responsible and free from bad habits. And it is the formation of such
independence combined with the recommendation on a healthy lifestyle that
preventive addiction measures should be directed on.
The absence
of dependence assumes that an individual conforms to concepts of behavioural
norm. The norm (according to Platonova K.K.) is the phenomenon of group
consciousness in the form of concepts divided by a group and the most frequent
judgements of the members of a group about the requirements to behaviour taking
into account their social roles creating optimum conditions of life with which
these norms interact and, reflecting, shape it. That is to say an essence of
behavioural norm is the conformity of a person to concepts divided by a group
about a norm [1.p.10-11].
Researchers
consider a pathological inclination to gamble to be not chemical (behavioural) addictions
when not a psychoactive substance becomes the object of dependence as in case
of chemical dependence, but a behavioural pattern. Last decade we can see dozens
of various behavioural addictions, among which gambling being one of the most
widespread, and due to is clinical indicators reminds chemical addiction. Some
experts call gambling “a model of behavioural addiction”. Game dependence in
recent years has become one of the serious problems of the Russian society,
both social and especially medical. In connection with ubiquitous slot machines
and the absence of the control on the set type of gaming among the population the
so-called gambling epidemic has begun practically in all age groups. Increasing
prevalence of pathological game dependence of many people in Russia has led to
poverty, and someone even to suicide.
The
risk of formation of the addictive behaviour can be considered from the point
of view of biopsychosociospiritual model, where each of factors or their
combination (heredity, features of character, micro-and macro- social
environment, a maturity of a person as a whole) participates in formation of
illness.
General
biological factors are pre-, peri-and postnatal hazards, assisting occurrence
of organic inferiority of brain structures. Heredity, in turn, is a basis of
formation of temperament and character properties of a person. Recently it has
become obvious that there are gaming problems in Russia, or gambling (from to gamble
(English). Growth of the number of casinos and slot machines, their availability
assisted the increase of number of people having pathological inclination for
gambling.
Russian
scientific literature and media often call gambling as the dependence on
gambling that is semantically not a proper use of "tracing-paper"
from the English language. Gambling is a general concept for a designation of
gaming on money. If we mean dependence itself, it is more correct to use such
terms as “problem gambling”, “pathological gambling”, “pathological propensity
to gambling”.
The following
classification of an involvement into gambling is the most widespread abroad:
-we can
speak about social (problem less) gambling with reference to the most of
players who have no game dependance. More than 80 % of population at least once
in their life played cards. For social gamblers gaming is an entertainment
which has no negative effects. They supervise their gaming activity, do not play
often and occasionally think of game.
-some
authors single out frequent (regular) gambling as an intermediate stage between
social and problem gambling. Game becomes an important part of the life of
those gamblers who can be focused on one type of game. Gambling does not
influence on the professional success of such players; they have also other
types of entertainment except gambling. However, as a result a regular gambling
can turn into a problem one.
-in a
problem gambling predilection for gambling can influence on professional activity;
long-term objectives and ambitions of gamblers in a great degree are connected
with gambling; they often think of gambling as their second work or a source of
income; they can spend the money saved for other objectives, on gambling.
-a pathological
(compulsive) gambling or pathological propensity to gambling. A pathological
gambling can be defined as progressing frustration, followed by continuous or episodic
loss of control on game, concern in gaming and getting money for it, irrational
thinking, as well as extension of similar behaviour, despite of adverse
consequences.
- People,
whose game activity is scheduled and regular, gamble professionally. Gambling
is their basic source of income. Some professional gamblers have predisposition
to pathological gambling and very soon they can pass into a category of problem
and pathological gamblers [2, p.82-84].
Within a
social model a dependent game behaviour is connected with infringement of family
and sexual relations, thus the fundamental importance is given to solve the question
about why gamblers do not wish to come back home after work, either because of
unwillingness to meet with spouses or unwillingness to plunge into a boring
atmosphere of ordinary family life.
More
often dependent people are extremely uncertain of themselves, they have the
inferiority complex, they sharply require friendship and love and are capable
to have these feelings. However, the main value for them in any life situations
are predilections. Such cases of deviant actions as robberies of their
relatives’ apartments are rather frequent. Partners involuntarily provoke each
other, and roles inside a couple can exchange: for some time one of the
partners is more active, then another. In words the gambler can hotly refuse
their predilection, but their behaviour does not give other people any chance
to forget about it. A dependent person can dominate over his family, especially
his wife or mother. Members of family shout, cry, ask, appeal, threaten or stop
talking to him. In other word, they try to help, but nothing can help. But
nevertheless the family continues to cover, protect and guard him and
themselves from pernicious consequences. [3, p.131].
The
common socially-psychological situation greatly influences on formation and
wide spreading of different types of behavioural addictions: deficiency of
actual dialogue, information, consumer, cultural redundancy of a situation. At the
level of the family organization the addictive behaviour is supported owing to
a phenomenon of co-dependence as a system of interpersonal relationship. At the
level of a socio-cultural situation it is a redundancy of a modern society and
deficiency of actual dialogue. [4, p.275].
Bibliography:
1.
Mendelevich V.D. Guide to addictology. SP. , 2007.
2.
Enikolopov E.N. Psychological problems of pathological inclination to gambling. Psychology questions. 2007,¹3.
3.
Lozgatchov E.A. Gambling dependence: peculiarities and social effects. Monitoring
of public view.2008, ¹3
4.
Khudyakova D.J. Technological addictions as a socially-psychological phenomenon.
Humanitarian sciences problems.2010, ¹3