Abstract
Dickerson and O'Connor review the literature and present data from their own studies that provide the basis for impaired control as an important psychological construct of an addictive behaviour such as gambling. They outline their research context and aptly highlight their focus on impaired control as one ‘limited but central’ feature in the development of problem gambling. Conceptually, the ability to control one's desire and involvement in an addictive behaviour is seen as a continuum. The complex relationship between the erosion of self-control and the pathological attachment to gambling is a key to understanding the harmful effects of uncontrolled gambling: the motivation to engage in a potentially rewarding activity is often counteracted by the motivation to minimize harm.
Included also in their formulation is the association of emotional factors, both positive and negative ones, with the development of impaired self-regulation. Stressful life events, guilt and the inability to articulate the connections between these life events or emotions to their gambling behaviours may lead to the erroneous attribution and perception of their inability to control their gambling expenditure. Certainly, these powerful emotional overlays often have significant motivational influences and cogent behaviourial impact, such as that of chasing. These psychological processes in turn serve to maintain or erode self-control in problem gamblers.
The historical development of legalized gambling makes an interesting read. Summarizing the events from the Western world, the authors trace the evolution of gambling products from mediaeval times to the modern-day, money-spinning equivalents – the slot or fruit machine being one of them. Indeed, from a social event, gambling has become an important source of revenue and taxation for many governments. The authors examine the themes and impact of such wide-ranging gambling products and their ready access; particularly on some of the Australian states and communities. Apart from the increased availability of legalized gambling, some of the other causal or risk factors that contribute to the prevalence of problem gambling include gambling in a ‘continuous’ way; urban living; young age of commencement and belonging to socially and economically disadvantaged groups.
The authors conduct an exhaustive review of the various psychological theories and pathways leading to the formulation of gambling as an addiction. The models based on the pathway model of problem and pathological gambling by Blaszcynski and Nower [1] and the model of impaired control by Heather et al. [2] is well-summarized. Dickerson and O'Connor also describe the development of the scales of gambling choices (SGC) by Baron et al. [3] and their own work on examining self-control in youth gamblers and the presentation of impaired control in different gambling behaviours. Cognitive variables such as the distortion of probability, misinterpretations of randomness, the illusion of control and superstitious behaviours serve to maintain or distort pseudo-confidence in an outcome that is inherently chance-determined rather than skill-based. The processes whereby problem gamblers end up having erroneous perceptions associated with risk taking, reducing complex probabilistic judgements to simpler ones, over-committing to a failing strategy and ending up chasing and trapped are explained in some detail by the authors. They question if impaired control is an integral component of impairment of self-control over gambling or a separate indistinguishable factor contributing to the harmful impact.
The technical workings of gambling machines make a rather eye-opening read, particularly around the mechanisms of reinforcement. The authors outline the implications of the model of impaired control for treatment approaches, harm minimization, prevention and the rendering of the process of gambling safer for all consumers. The case study of responsible gambling strategies in Victoria further illustrates these implications and approaches.
Overall, this book provides an insightful review and a considered argument regarding the notion of impaired control in the maintenance of gambling behaviour. It will enhance the other emerging data supporting gambling as an addictive behaviour, including the neurobiological mechanisms.
Dominic Lim
Christchurch, New Zealand
© 2007 Dominic Lim