Stigma remains a significant obstacle to problem gambling disclosure, help-seeking and recovery. Yet little research has been conducted into the causes, characteristics and consequences of stigma associated with problem gambling.
Stigma can arise from various sources, such as social desirability bias, structural stigma and individual stigma. By understanding these mechanisms, effective measures to reduce stigma associated with problem gambling can be developed.
Stigma is a form of discrimination
Stigma is when someone experiences discrimination due to a mental health condition. This can make it difficult to receive treatment and make symptoms worse. Stigma also prevents individuals from opening up about their problems with others or seeking assistance.
Stigma can take many forms. Some involve inaccurate stereotypes about those living with mental illness, such as labeling someone who struggles with anxiety as either a coward or violent individual.
Stereotypical labels can be far more detrimental than the actual mental health condition itself.
It may also serve to tell someone they are weak for not being able to cope with their situation.
One effective way to reduce stigma and discrimination is speaking up when you hear negative or inaccurate remarks about people with mental health issues.
It is a form of social desirability bias
Stigma is a form of social desirability bias, in which individuals under-report undesirable attitudes or behaviors and over-report more desirable attributes (Paulhus 1984). This occurs when people believe their behaviours are unacceptable to the wider society and attempt to fit in rather than admit they have an issue.
Theories have been proposed to explain this tendency, such as impression management and self-deception. Impression management suggests people attempt to present themselves in a manner more acceptable to others while self-deception suggests they seek to maintain an optimistic view of their own qualities.
An online survey of 2000 Australian adults sought to gauge how they perceived problem gambling in terms of its origin, peril, concealability, course and disruptiveness. Results revealed people stigmatised problem gambling more than sub-clinical distress, recreational gambling and alcohol use disorder but less than schizophrenia and its symptoms.
It is a form of structural stigma
Gambling is a widely stigmatized mental health condition that can have an immense effect on someone’s life and often has links to addiction.
Gambling’s influence on mental health stigma is largely due to people’s preconceived notions about the disorder. Such beliefs may include that those with gambling problems are dangerous and likely to harm others.
Stigma can impact health on both an individual and structural level by restricting access to social, economic and physical resources4,32,33. It leads to stress4,38,39 as well as maladaptive behavioral and psychological responses6,46,47,55,56.
Research should examine the connections between stigma and health, particularly at different stages of an individual’s life course. Especially during younger developmental stages when individuals’ capacity for coping is still developing, experiences of stigma may have a major detrimental impact on health through stress or maladaptive behavioral or psychological responses.
It is a form of individual stigma
Gambling can lead to stigma when people learn of your habits or if you’ve had a negative experience with it. If you have a mental health condition, this could lead to shame and embarrassment as well as delaying seeking help when needed.
Stigma can also manifest in self-stigmatising ways when one internalizes negative stereotypes about mental health conditions, leading to low self-esteem and hopelessness. Both types of stigma may lead people away from seeking help for their problems, leading to a worsened outlook as well as increased stress and anxiety.
Scientists researching stigma have been asking key questions that have provided important insights into the connections between stigma and health, including when experiences of stigma are most harmful for one’s wellbeing and how pathways linking stigma with health evolve over time. Unfortunately, much of the literature has treated stigma as a static issue without providing guidance on when it is most beneficial to deliver interventions for health equity purposes.
