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Table 1 A taxonomy of harms experienced by people who gamble

From: Understanding gambling related harm: a proposed definition, conceptual framework, and taxonomy of harms

 

General

Crisis

Legacy

Financial Harm

• Reduction or loss of capacity to purchase luxury items such as holidays, electronics

• Reduction or loss of discretionary spending such as non-gambling related entertainment or other family members’ activities (ie. children’s sports)

• Erosion of savings

• Activities to manage short term cash-flow issues:

o Additional employment or other forms of income generation

o Accessing more credit

o Use of credit cards (kite flying)

o Selling or pawning items

o Pay day loans

o Non-payment or juggling of large bills such as utilities or rates

• Cost of replacing items sold or pawned as part of short term cash strategies

• Reduction or loss of non-immediate consequence expenditure

o Insurance (health, home, car, income protection, business)

o Repairs or maintenance costs (home, car, business)

o Health promotion activities (check-ups, long term medications, allied health support)

o Household items

• Reduction or loss of expenditure on items of immediate consequence:

o Children’s expenses (education)

o Medication or health care

o Clothing

o Food (including use of food parcel)

o Housing or accommodation

o Needing assistance with bill payments from welfare organisations or inability to pay bills (eg utilities)

o Transport costs (petrol, fares)

• Loss of sources of additional funds (ie no further credit available)

• Loss of capacity to meet requirements of essential needs (food)

• Loss of normal accommodation requiring temporary accommodation or resulting in homelessness

• Loss of major assets (car, home, business)

• Bankruptcy

• Reliant on welfare

• Restrictions due to bankruptcy or credit rating

• Ongoing financial hardship

• “Forced” cohabitation or involvement in unhealthy relationship due to financial constraint

• Further financial harm from attempts to manage debt (ie. Non-reputable finance providers for debt consolidation)

• Ongoing issues relating to financial security, poverty, or financial disadvantage.

• Higher costs associated with poor credit rating including premium cost of pay as you go services or increased security bonds.

Relationship Disruption, Conflict or Breakdown

• Dishonest communication within relationships with spouse, partner, children, family, friends or community

• Unreliable or unavailable to spouse, partner, children, family, friends or community

• Reduced amount of time spent with spouse, partner, children, family, friends or community

• Reduced quality of time spent with spouse, partner, children, family, friends or community

• Disengagement or withdrawal from relationship responsibilities.

• Increased levels of neglect of relationships

• Pervasive neglect or disengagement from relationships

• Reduced engagement in family or social events,

• Tension with spouse, partner, children, family, friends or community

• Minor or occasional conflict due to increased involvement in gambling or suspicion of increased involvement with gambling

• Serious or regular conflict due to increased involvement in gambling or suspicion of increased involvement with gambling

• Major or constant conflict due to increased involvement in gambling or suspicion of increased involvement with gambling

• Loss of trust from relationship with spouse, partner, children, family, friends or community

• “Punishment” by spouse, partner, children, family, friends or community

• Episodic distortion of relationship roles (infantilising the person gambling, others including children having to take parental type role)

• Incidence or escalation of family violence or intimate partner violence

• Threat of separation or rejection from relationship with spouse, partner, children, family, friends or community

• Actual separation or rejection from relationship with spouse, partner, children, family, friends or community

• Social isolation

• Loss of relationship (temporary or permanent) with spouse, partner, children, family, friends or community

• Distortion of relationship roles (infantilising the person gambling, others including children having to take parental type role)

• Incidence or escalation of family violence or intimate partner violence

• Social isolation due to ongoing estrangement from relationships with spouse, partner, children, family, friends or community

• Vulnerability to problematic gambling relapse due to isolation or relationship breakdown

• Inability or reluctance to participate in social functions at gambling venues

• Ongoing “punishment” or resentment from spouse, partner, children, family, friends or community

• Relationship rebuilding or reconciliation

• Ongoing involvement of family court in parenting or co-parenting

• Long term damage or estrangement from relationship/s with spouse, partner, children, family, friends or community

• Ongoing distortion of relationship roles (infantilising the person gambling, others including children having to take parental type role)

• Loss of psychological development through lack of appropriate social interaction

• Incidence or escalation of family violence or intimate partner violence

Emotional or Psychological Distress

• Emotional and psychological distress caused by living outside of your value system

• Experience of distorted cognitions or erroneous beliefs

• Emotional or psychological distress of hiding gambling from others (including lying and creating alibis for lost time and money)

• Reduced feelings of self-worth and pride

• Increased feelings of shame

• Increased feelings of inadequacy or personal failing because of inability to control gambling to recreational levels

• Perceptions of being stigmatised

• Emotional or psychological distress of inability to control gambling

• Increased feelings of insecurity and vulnerability

• Emotional or psychological distress caused by other harms

• Emotional or psychological distress due to harm caused to others (guilt)

• Loss of “face” or reputation due to impact of other harms

• Desperation from not being able to recoup losses.

• Emotional or psychological distress of not wanting to accept problems with gambling

• Loss of sense of future or ability to get ahead

• Increasing feelings of powerlessness

• Fear and distress from follow up and harassment by creditors (legal and illegal)

• Extreme emotional or psychological distress in relation to other harms

• Extreme emotional or psychological distress due to harm caused to others

• Extreme emotional or psychological distress caused by living outside of your value system

• Complete loss of feelings of self-worth and pride

• Extreme shame

• Extreme sense of hopelessness and powerlessness

• Suicidal ideation

• Loss of “face” or reputation (stigma) if problem with gambling becomes publicly known

• Shame from utilising responsible gambling measures such as exclusion or seeking treatment.

• Extreme fear and distress from follow up and harassment by creditors (legal and illegal)

• Experienced, perceived and internal stigma

• Ongoing guilt and shame

• Emotional and psychological impacts of managing recovery or harm minimisation strategies including constant vigilance and behavioural adaptation

• Ongoing feelings of insecurity and vulnerability

• Ongoing emotional and psychological distress in relation to other harms

• Ongoing emotional or psychological distress due to harm caused to others

• Ongoing emotional or psychological distress caused by having lived outside of your value system

• Ongoing vulnerability to suicidal behaviours

Decrements to Health

• Increased sedentary behaviour during time spent gambling

• Biological manifestation of emotional and psychological distress eg. increased blood pressure, loss of sleep

• Reduced levels of self-care:

o nutrition

o hygiene

o sufficient sleep

o compliance with medical care

o physical activity

o reduced quality of living circumstances (ie. cannot afford heating)

• Incidence of disease or injury due to reduced levels of self care

• Increased risk due to gateway effect, interaction with, or exacerbation of other health risk factors (drinking, smoking, illegal substances)

• Increased risk due to gateway to, interaction with, or exacerbation of comorbidities (depression, anxiety, biophysical chronic disease)

• Increased experience of family violence due to involvement in gambling

• Incidence of self-harm

• Minor health ailments (headache migraine) relating to focussing on a screen for long periods of time with particular gambling products

• Physical impacts of living rough due to homelessness, including increased risk of disease, violence and impact of poor living conditions

• Experience of violence due to involvement in gambling

• Medical emergency (including mortality) due to onset, exacerbation, or failure to diagnose condition due to gambling

• Serious self-harm

• Attempted (or completed) suicide

• Ongoing disability or decrement to health through attempted suicide or other forms of self-harm

• Ongoing increased risk of disease or decrement to health due to legacy effects of risk factors or poor self-care

• Ongoing disability or decrement to health due to other medical conditions exacerbated or advanced due to involvement with gambling.

Cultural Harm

• Reduced engagement in cultural rituals

• Culturally based shame in relation to cultural roles and expectations

• Reduction of contribution to community and cultural practices of the community

• Reduction of cultural practices

• Reduced connection to cultural community

• Harm to individual through reduced connection to community and culture in terms of increased social exclusion or isolation

• Extreme cultural shame in relation to culturally based roles and expectations

• Loss of ability to contribute to community

• Impact (loss) on cultural practices

• Damaged or lost connection to community and culture

• Harm to individual through reduced or lost connection to community

• Ongoing cultural shame in relation to roles and expectations

• Ongoing reduction or loss of contribution to community

• Ongoing reduction or loss of cultural practices

• Ongoing loss of connection to community

• Ongoing harm to individual through reduced connection to community

Reduced Performance at Work or Study

• Reduced performance due to tiredness or distraction

• Increased absenteeism due to time spent actually gambling, tiredness, ill health or lack of transport due to gambling

• Workplace or educational institution consequences of use of work or educational institution resources for gambling activity

• Reduced availability to contribute to the community through volunteer work

• Loss of job due to theft or fraud involving employment or educational institution

• Loss of job, suspension or exclusion from educational institution due to poor performance

• Exacerbation or contribution to other harms due to job loss (including loss of wage)

• Rejection from volunteer work

• Reduced opportunity for employment or enrolment due to past poor performance or criminal activity

• Ongoing impact in participation in volunteer work (linked to reputation and restriction of activities)

Criminal Activity

• Vulnerability to illegal activities that can provide fast access to funds

• Engagement in crimes of negligence - acts such as child neglect (leaving children unsupervised)

• Engagement in crimes of opportunity - petty theft including from family members

• Engagement in crimes of opportunity - property crimes for funds, illicit lending, fraudulent efforts to attain funds

• Engagement in crimes of duress - relating to repaying debt such as drug trafficking and prostitution

• Arrest and/or conviction of criminal activity of opportunity

• Arrest and/or conviction of criminal activity of duress

• Arrest and / or conviction of criminal activity of negligence

• Impact of criminal record on future employment opportunities, voluntary and community opportunities, travel restrictions

• Disruption to relationships of custodial sentence

• Ongoing impact on spouse, partner, child, family and friends due to impact of criminal record or custodial sentence through other mechanisms

• Trans-generational impact of criminal record or custodial sentence

• Shame and stigma of criminal conviction or involvement in criminal activity

Lifecourse and Intergenerational Harms

• Generational loss relating to financial security or stages of financial achievement (ongoing impact caused by inability to secure or loss of major asset, superannuation)

• Loss of lifecourse events such as engagement/marriage/having children (generational loss)

• Loss of primary relationships and social connection (including parents/children/community)

• Having to move towns/states due to impact of gambling or other harms

• Homelessness

• Change to career due to impact of gambling or other harms

• Incarceration due to gambling