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Title: | For “bettor” or for worse : the lived experience of being the wife of a former online problem gambler |
Authors: | Catania, Maris (2022) |
Keywords: | Internet gambling Compulsive gamblers -- Family relationships Compulsive gamblers' spouses Phenomenological psychology |
Issue Date: | 2022 |
Citation: | Catania, M. (2022). For “bettor” or for worse: the lived experience of being the wife of a former online problem gambler (Master's dissertation). |
Abstract: | This study explores the lived experience of the wives/partners of former online problem gamblers. It explores the lived experience of these affected others to understand the meaning given to the online gambling experience, even through the participants are not online gamblers themselves. This study looks into the various aspects of their experience, and how the participants handle the husband’s/partner’s problematic gambling. Through a qualitative research approach, six affected others (wives or partners) were interviewed. These semi structured interviews were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Four super-ordinate themes emerged. The first theme ‘onset’ looks into the normalisation of gambling and how the problematic gambling was hidden, whereas in the second theme ‘escalation to commitment’ takes on how gambling took over their lives, and the broken trust in their relationship. The third theme ‘reaching rock bottom’ looked into how the gambling disorder shifted onto these affected others, through financial harm, emotional harm, and self-blame amongst other aspects. The last theme ‘new hope and new beginnings’ considers the new roles and resilience these affected others take on to manage this new aspect of their life. The findings elicited from these interviews were analysed through IPA to ensure that the experiences are at the centre of the research. Strengths and limitations for the study were presented, including recommendations for future research, practice, and policy. |
Description: | M.Sc.(Melit.) |
URI: | https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/112779 |
Appears in Collections: | Dissertations - FacM&S - 2022 Dissertations - FacSoW - 2022 Dissertations - FacSoWPsy - 2022 |
Files in This Item:
File | Description | Size | Format | |
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2218SWBPSY501605009042_1.PDF | 1.9 MB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
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