Spelberoende : En studie om före detta spelberoendes syn på problematiken kring stöd och behandling

Sammanfattning: The purpose of this study was to examine and understand how members of a non-profit organization for gambling addiction describe and view problems concerning support and treatment for gambling addiction. The study was based on in-depth interviews with six representatives from non-profit organizations for gambling addiction. The empirical material was analyzed based on social constructivism. As a complement to social constructivism we also used categorization and claims-making as a theoretical perspective to further understand how social problems are defined and constructed. The result of this study shows that the alternatives for treatment for gambling addiction is limited because gambling addiction is not fully accepted as a social problem by society. However, it was pointed out that gambling addiction is on the rise but needs more attention. We found that the non-profit organizations are important to emphasize gambling addiction as a social problem which requires social action. Gambling addiction is described both in relation to social and individual aspects. Further, gambling addiction is both described and constructed in relation to alcohol and drug-addiction where it was portrayed as an unseen social problem.