The Janus-Faced Role of Gambling Flow in Addiction Issues

YesFlow experience has been widely investigated in experiential activities such as sports, the performing arts, gaming and Internet usage. Most studies focus on the positive aspects of flow experience and its effect on performance. In stark contrast, gambling research focusing on the negative side of addiction lacks an in-depth investigation of gamblers’ (positive) flow encounters. This separation of research lines seems out of place given that recent research indicates connections between flow and addiction. Joining both constructs in a causal effects model helps to gain a better understanding of their relationship and its contingencies. This paper empirically investigates whether and how it is possible to observe a “Janus face” of flow with its various sub-dimensions in online gambling. Empirical data was collected from 500 online gamblers by applying a structured questionnaire with established scales. The data was analyzed with a confirmatory factor analysis and a double-hurdle model to separate casual gamblers who are unsusceptible to any addiction issues from gamblers affected by initiatory addiction issues. The findings indicate that online gambling addiction is negatively influenced by two sub-dimensions of flow experience, namely a sense of control and concentration on the task at hand, while enhanced by a transformation of time and autotelic experience

Rough Living

Rough Living: Surviving Violence and Homelessness reveals the ways in which intense chains of disadvantage, incorporating homelessness, are triggered by very early experiences of violence. Drawing on biographic interviews with six men and six women, the book bears witness not only to horrendous repeated experiences of physical and sexual violence, but discusses what may be understood as related multi-dimensional vulnerability in areas such as physical and mental health, education, employment and social connectedness. A picture of the long-term cycles of violent victimisation and homelessness, and their compounding traumatising effects, are made clear and the importance of trauma-informed service delivery is outlined as a key way forward

Finding fear and loathing in Las Vegas

Casinos serve as the proverbial devil on the shoulder to strengthen the convictions – and addictions – of those who have succumbed to the controlling mechanisms of casino culture, and the tangential addictions that often accompany gambling disorders. Acknowledging that millions of people gamble on a daily basis without negative outcomes, the present project seeks to draw attention to the fact that little scholarly attention is given to ‘leisure industries’, such as corporatized gambling, that can create parasitic and exploitative relationships with the public that they purport to serve. By exploring the unique relations and interactions between the staff and clientele of a specific casino in Las Vegas, the purpose of the current study is to shed light on the nuanced and ambiguous relations between casino and gambler. While it appears we can re-create the baser versions of ourselves, we sought to illustrate the cost that comes for some gamblers

A Resource for Pastors and Counselors: Ministering to Spiritual and Emotional Needs of Those in Ministry

Some pastors are in need of pastoral care and counseling; unfortunately, many will never receive the care they need. Pastors often suffer in silence because they feel they cannot trust revealing their deep dark secrets with fellow clergy. The lack of confidentiality among pastors has caused leaders to struggle in silence with the very issues they preach against: adultery, fornication, pornography, drug, alcohol, etc. The fear of exposure has driven some pastors to seek help in other states where they can remain anonymous. Providing this type of resource will enable pastors to take control of their lives, and seek the help they need. It will validate pastors concern that there is a need for appropriate pastoral care and counseling for pastors. Through the statistical data, survey, interviews and model of hope established, pastors will understand the significance of marriage and family and will seek the help need to overcome malfeasance

Rough living: Surviving violence and homelessness

This research project emerged in response to the growing number of informal narratives of violent victimisation encountered by staff of Homeless Persons' Legal Service (HPLS) in their work with homeless clients and current and former homeless advocates in Sydney, New South Wales. Despite consistent reports of repeated experiences of violence occurring both before and whilst living homeless, it was observed that little current local documentation or wider policy acknowledgment of these exists. Disturbingly, reports about episodes of violence revealed that positive engagement with responding emergency and support services was rare and in many cases was never even sought, and that the opportunity for the follow-up of past traumatic events was even rarer. Most distressing, however, was the perception identified amongst victims that often brutal and repetitive victimisation was a `normal and accepted part of everyday life in the past and present, and an expected part of everyday life in the future

Rough living: surviving violence & homelessness

Rough Living: Surviving Violence and Homelessness reveals the ways in which intense chains of disadvantage incorporating homelessness are triggered by very early experiences of violence. Drawing on biographic interviews with 6 men and 6 women, the project bears witness not only to horrendous repeated experiences of physical and sexual violence but discusses what may be understood as related multi-dimensional vulnerability in areas such as physical and mental health, education, employment and social connectedness. A picture of the long-term cycles of violent victimisation and homelessness and their compounding traumatising effects are made clear and the importance of trauma-informed service delivery is outlined as a key way forward.Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC); Homeless Persons' Legal Service (HPLS

Internet gaming disorder: feeling the flow of social games

Introduction: Gaming Disorder (GD) was added to the recent publication of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) by the World Health Organization. This aligns with recommendations of the fifth edition of the Diagnostic Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM-5), issued by the American Psychiatric Association. Accordingly, further relevant research has been invited. The interplay between preference for online social game genres, the degree of online Flow (or immersive pleasure) experienced, and the gamer's biological gender were examined here as contributing factors of IGD. Method: A normative sample of adult internet gamers was collected online (N=237, Age=18–59, Males=157; 66%; Females=80; 34%). Participants completed the nine-item Internet Gaming Disorder Scale-Short Form (IGDS-SF9), the Online Flow Questionnaire (OFQ), and also self-reported demographics and internet/gaming behaviours. Results: Mediation and moderated mediation analyses indicated that the level of online Flow experienced considerably mediated the association between the preference for social games genres and the intensity of IGD behaviours across both biological genders. Conclusions: Results suggest that the level of online Flow experienced constitutes a risk factor in relation to the development of IGD. Furthermore, games which mandate social interaction with others present to be conducive to online Flow, and thus enhancing IGD risk irrespective of the biological gender of the gamer. Implications and limitations of the study are discussed. Keywords: Internet gaming disorder, Flow, Online flow, Social games, Massively multiplayer online role playing games, Multiplayer online battle arena, Gaming addictio

Internet and Smartphone Use-Related Addiction Health Problems: Treatment, Education and Research

This Special Issue presents some of the main emerging research on technological topics of health and education approaches to Internet use-related problems, before and during the beginning of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The objective is to provide an overview to facilitate a comprehensive and practical approach to these new trends to promote research, interventions, education, and prevention. It contains 40 papers, four reviews and thirty-five empirical papers and an editorial introducing everything in a rapid review format. Overall, the empirical ones are of a relational type, associating specific behavioral addictive problems with individual factors, and a few with contextual factors, generally in adult populations. Many have adapted scales to measure these problems, and a few cover experiments and mixed methods studies. The reviews tend to be about the concepts and measures of these problems, intervention options, and prevention. In summary, it seems that these are a global culture trend impacting health and educational domains. Internet use-related addiction problems have emerged in almost all societies, and strategies to cope with them are under development to offer solutions to these contemporary challenges, especially during the pandemic situation that has highlighted the global health problems that we have, and how to holistically tackle them