A Focus Group Study of Predictors of Relapse in Electronic Gaming Machine Problem Gambling, Part 1: Factors that ‘Push’ Towards Relapse

A Focus Group Study of Predictors of Relapse in Electronic Gaming Machine Problem Gambling, Part 2: Factors that ‘Pull’ the Gambler Away from Relapse

“…This paper complements the findings from the first paper (Oakes et al 2011) by describing the association of protective factors against relapse. These factors operate to create a vigilant mindset with its associated mental and behavioural strategies that assist abstinent problem gamblers to 'pull' away from relapse in the face of stimuli that trigger the urge and cognitions to return to gambling.…”

“…Four of these: (1) cognitive strategies such as remembering past gambling harms or distraction techniques to avoid thinking about gambling to enable gamblers to manage the urge to gamble (2) positive social support, (3) intervention and (4) managing the urge, specifically related to the 'pull' away from (or reduce the risk) of relapse. The other two key factors were the urge to gamble and environmental factors that 'pushed' the gambler towards relapse (Oakes et al 2011). The final synthesis of the systematic analytic process resulted in three complementary theories describing the 'pull' away from relapse.…”

“…This was evidenced by a number of patterns of relapse that were described suggesting a progressive capacity to resist the urge to gamble (Oakes et al 2011). These patterns involved: Immediate relapse where the gambler did not appear to struggle with the decision to gamble, for example PA5 stated: "You would walk through a wall, that's how strong the urge was."…”

“…These are described as mental and behavioural events (figure 2b-2c). As indicated in (Oakes et al 2011) the 'push' to gamble commences with triggers ( figure 2b) that initiate thoughts about gambling stimulating the urge (figure 2c), with enhancement of the urge and arousal by thoughts of winning (figure 2d) resulting in the decision to relapse. It is difficult to understand how it is that such poor decision making can occur in the face of gross evidence that gambling is not a good idea.…”

“…The final synthesis of this process resulted in a single overarching theory; namely that each relapse episode comprises a sequence of mental and behavioural events, which evolve over time and are modified by factors that 'push' the gambler towards relapse. Five key factors emerged that 'push' the gambler towards relapse: urge, erroneous cognitions about the outcomes of gambling, negative affect, dysfunctional relationships and environmental gambling triggers (Oakes et al 2011).…”