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Faculty of Education

A Qualitative Study of Women Who Have Been Problem Gamblers

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

During the past 20 years, there has been significant advancement in our conceptualization of problem gambling behaviour. Despite this progression, there remains a paucity of knowledge about gendered problem gambling behaviour. The purpose of this research was to elucidate the relationship between the female context and female problem gambling behaviour. The study employed qualitative methodology to explore the lived experiences of four female problem gamblers. Inductive content analysis resulted in the establishment of five core themes. A metaphor of self-protection emerged from examination of the core themes. The resultant metaphor suggests that female problem gambling may represent a maladaptive, yet functional self-protective behaviour against thoughts, memories, and feelings related to traumatic experiences. Further, these findings suggest a possible relationship between the metaphor of self-protection, trauma-mediated neurological changes in the brain, and amplified receptivity to gambling stimuli. Further research is required to verify and explore the generalizability of these findings.

Degree

thesis:*
Grantor
Faculty of Education
Year dc:date.issued
2017

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Burgess, Eric
Advisor dc:contributor.supervisor
  • Piquette-Tomei, Noëlla A.

Subjects

dc:subject × 3

Rights

Language dc:language.iso
en_US

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Identifier
hdl:10133/5019

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
University of Lethbridge
Base URL
opus.uleth.ca/server/oai/request
Last updated
2026-08-21
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Burgess, Eric. A Qualitative Study of Women Who Have Been Problem Gamblers. Faculty of Education, 2017. https://hdl.handle.net/10133/5019