Post 32
The New Gateway? vs The New Gateway.
When Gambling Recovery Ministries was born in 2001, I
made it a priority to plug into professional continuing education events. Not only does my ministry appointment require
a certain number of CEUs per year, but also, I have found it essential to keep
current in this new mental health field of problem gambling recovery.
Early on, workshops on teen gambling caught my
attention. Having experienced 13+ years
of youth ministry prior to serving as parish pastor, I was fascinated by the
topic. Often, the presenters would
comment that gambling, most probably, would turn out to be a phase like any
other teen-age fetish – and that, again, any problems with gambling would be
outgrown. I remember challenging those
remarks during Q & A times: how can you
say this, so assuredly, without the benefit of long-standing research?
Then too, there was an intriguing workshop that posed
the question: Gambling: the Gateway
[behavior] to Drugs? The presenter brought forth compelling
information about teen involvement in gambling.
Indeed, the possibility of connecting teen gambling with subsequent
and/or co-occurring substance abuse was worthy of strong attention.
So I’ve made it a point to keep an eye on the topic
of teen gambling. Over the years, this
subject has increasingly gained the attention of the therapeutic community. Immediate accessibility to both the internet
and interpersonal communication has created a world of instant-talk AND
instant-bet. Adults are not the only
ones using smartphones’ services to the net – and to the gambling sites.
Moreover, a number of teens find other ways
to place bets through our social media’s latest venues - on a vast variety of contests
you would never believe.
So, now, where are we in 2012? Last week, during the IN-ARMS/Mid-Central
Conference on Problem Gambling, I heard the
words sans question mark: for pre-teens
and teens, gambling is the gateway. Period. No question mark: gambling for these young
people opens the gate to high risk behaviors.
Let’s say it again: marijuana is no longer the gateway … it’s gambling.
Going home, I remembered the years-ago workshop that posed the “gateway” question. Could I find another source to back up this statement?
It didn't take long!
From the California Council on Problem Gambling website - http://www.calproblemgambling.org/consequences-of-youth-gambling/
I read, But
gambling is a serious addiction, and the effects can be every bit as
devastating (both to the gambler and their family) as drugs or alcohol. What’s
more, gambling is often a “gateway” to other high-risk behaviors. For
example, multiple studies performed in the year 2000 indicated that youth’s
gambling in the U.S.
often preceded use of cigarettes, hard liquor and marijuana.
In addition, the California Council’s website shares the
following: According to the American
Psychiatric Association (APA), as many as 15% of young people asked have
significant gambling problems, and 6% of teens who have gambled have become
pathological gamblers.
For more information on teen gambling, visit the
following sites:
Next month, this blog will continue the topic of teen
gambling, along with a GRM Blog Work Sheet for Teens: How You Can Say No to Gambling.
For further information on problem gambling and
recovery issues, go to www.grmumc.org
Blessings,
Rev. Janet Jacobs
Director, Gambling Recovery Ministries
Director, Gambling Recovery Ministries
