A Poststructural Analysis of the Health and Wellbeing of Young Lesbian Identified Women in New Zealand

New Zealand is regarded internationally as a forerunner in the recognition of gay rights. Despite the wide circulation of discourses of gay rights and equality, research shows that young women who identify as lesbian continue to be marginalised by society, which constrains their health and wellbeing. This study was an inquiry into the health and wellbeing of young lesbians in New Zealand, from a poststructural feminist perspective. It posed the research question: what are the discourses in play in relation to the health and wellbeing of young lesbian identified women in New Zealand? The methodology employed was a poststructural feminist discourse analysis, drawing on the philosopher Michel Foucault’s concepts of genealogy and the history of the present. Interviews with young lesbians were conducted in 2012 amid public debate around same-sex marriage. Historical data sources were the extant texts Broadsheet, a feminist periodical with strong health and wellbeing emphasis, and Hansard, a record of New Zealand parliamentary debate. Issues of these publications were selected from the early 1970s, during which the second wave feminist movement emerged, and the mid-1980s when the campaign for Homosexual Law Reform took place in New Zealand. The discourse analysis made visible the production of multiple ‘truths’ of young lesbian health and wellbeing. Young lesbian participants were able to position themselves as legitimate subjects endorsed by psychological and biomedical scientific communities, and as lesbian wives and mothers. Queer discourse enabled the refutation of fixed modes of sexual and gender identity. The findings also showed that young lesbians continued to be subject to heteronormative and patriarchal discourses, which legitimised their marginalisation, exclusion, and victimisation, and restricted the spaces in which they could feel safe. Further, the ability of the participants to challenge the effects of heteronormative and patriarchal discourses on their wellbeing was limited by dominant psychological and healthy lifestyles discourses, which produced them as individualised subjects of neoliberal responsibility. Findings also pointed to a restriction of possibilities for young lesbian health and wellbeing in New Zealand. The publically and legally sanctioned availability of lesbian marriage seemed to have pushed lesbian relationships further under the rubric of ‘the family’. Broadsheet magazine in the early 1970s, and mid-1980s was a surface of emergence for alternative discourses of lesbianism such as radical feminism to circulate. Radical feminist discourse problematised heterosexuality and its institutions of marriage and the family, and created space for lesbian community development and a political lesbianism to emerge. Through radical feminist discourse, compulsory heterosexuality could be articulated as a women’s health issue. Addressing the issue of narrowing lesbian possibilities involves supporting young women to creatively expand the range of possible lesbian spaces and selves that are available to them. The rethinking of practices of radical lesbian space-making may facilitate the production and circulation of alternative discourses on lesbianism. Important possibilities for lesbian health may be found in societal health and wellbeing discourses which challenge the notion of individual responsibility, foregrounding analysis of heteropatriarchy, as well as governmental and social responsibility for effecting change

On the feasibility of in-venue observations of EGM gamblers and game characteristics

Detailed observational studies of undisturbed gambler behaviour in venues are rare, especially if the focus is on continuous gambling such as electronic gaming machines (EGMs). EGMs are the main source of harmful gambling in New Zealand and all EGMs in New Zealand now include a mandatory pop-up message feature. The present study reports on 48 hours of in-situ observations of EGM gamblers in casino and non-casino (pub) venues in New Zealand and sought to establish whether relatively detailed observations of EGM features and gambler behaviour in venues were possible. Pop-up messages were the EGM feature focused on given their harm-minimisation potential, and the relative ease with which they can be observed. However, other EGM features were also documented along with descriptive accounts of associated gambler behaviour. The results establish that relatively detailed (quantitative or qualitative) observational data can be collected in venues using smart phones. The data showed pop-up messages were generally attended to but had little observable effect on gambler behaviour in venues. Direct in-situ observation of gamblers can provide ecologically valid information to compliment more common experimental and survey-based approaches. Some suggestions for developing the procedure are discussed

Electronic gaming machine characteristics: it's the little things that count

A range of gamblers, from low-frequency social gamblers through to problem gamblers in treatment, participated in focus groups discussing the characteristics of Electronic Gaming Machines (EGMs) that they found attractive. Analyses of the resulting transcripts resulted in two groups of EGM characteristics being identified as important, one group associated with winning and one with betting. Overall, free spin features were identified in all groups as the most attractive characteristic of EGMS. Beyond that it was smaller win-related characteristics, and low-denomination machines with multiple playable lines that were associated with increased duration and intensity of gambling behaviour. The important characteristics were consistent across different levels of gamblers, with the key behavioural difference being a self-reported ‘expertise’, and ‘strategic’ approach to gambling amongst higher-frequency gamblers and problem gamblers in treatment. The key characteristics all occur frequently and result in more wins and extended gambling sessions. The patterns identified resonated with established behavioural principles, and with models describing the development of problem gambling and addictions more generally

“The Bad Things that Happened Are Kind of Good Things”: Exploring Gambling Among Residents of a Transitional Housing Service.

A small body of research has shown that gambling problems are elevated among homeless populations and suggests the complexity of relationships between homelessness, gambling and a broad range of other social and addiction issues. This research explored patterns of gambling and coexisting issues at the level of the individuals’ experiences. We describe the experiences of 17 residents of a transitional housing service who had experienced gambling harm as people who gamble and/or affected others, using a descriptive qualitative approach. Four themes, each with subthemes, were identified in the data. Participants described their histories, strong links between methamphetamine use and gambling and the importance of connectedness and family to recovery. Gambling was seldom an issue raised by professional services or divulged by the participants, nor was it described as a key factor in becoming homeless. General self-help strategies (such as distraction) were adapted by participants in attempts to modify or control their gambling. The present results stress the need to destigmatise gambling problems (even relative to methamphetamine use) and to provide gambling information and support through a broad range of social and health services in a way that resonates both with those affected those providing professional support

Family violence in gambling help-seeking populations

Elevated rates of family violence among treatment-seeking problem gamblers compared to general population estimates have been reported in Spain, Canada and Australia. This study examined the occurrence of family violence among 454 problem gambling help-seeking clients (370 gamblers, 84 affected others) recruited through 3 national gambling treatment services in New Zealand. Measures used were the Problem Gambling Severity Index, and a modified version of the HITS Scale which assessed physical, emotional, verbal and sexual abuse. Past-year family violence among gamblers in this sample was 46.8% for victimization, 41.2% for perpetration and 55.0% for any form of family violence. Among affected others the occurrence was 65.5% for victimization, 57.1% for perpetration and 71.4% for any form of violence. The most common type of violence was verbal intimate partner violence. Affected others and women gamblers reported higher rates of violence victimization and perpetration. These findings underscore the importance of screening gambling help-seeking clients for family violence, and the development of prevention and treatment programmes to address violence in this population, with particular attention to affected others and women gamblers. Future research should assess coercive control and the gendered nature of family violence among problem gambling help-seekers

Measuring the Burden of Gambling Harm in New Zealand

Owned by the Ministry of Health and licensed for reuse under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence.The Ministry of Health engaged Central Queensland University’s (CQU) Experimental Gambling Research Laboratory and Auckland University of Technology’s (AUT) Gambling and Addictions Research Centre to develop a framework and a methodology for understanding and measuring gambling-related harm in the New Zealand population. The aim of the project was to systematically investigate gambling-related harm in New Zealand, and assess the aggregate ‘Burden of Harm’ caused by gambling with reference to different levels of problem gambling, and other comparable conditions. This improved understanding of the quality and quantity of harm will help to better target efforts to prevent or reduce the potential negative consequences of problematic gambling.NoNew Zealand Ministry of Healt