Spelberoende som missbruksproblematik

Sammanfattning: The purpose of this study was to examine how gambling addiction is understood by those active in the field, the consequences of gambling addiction and treatment available for gambling addiction in Sweden. We also wanted to examine if gambling addiction could be seen as a social problem or not depending on our theoretical basis. Our main issues were: 1 How do active within the field of gambling addiction understand the concept and how do they define the concepts of addiction and abuse? 2 How do active within the field of gambling addiction work with the problem and what are their thoughts about the various treatment options and the availability of these for gambling addicts? 3 Is gambling addiction a social problem? Our theoretical basis was the understanding of social problems on different levels. We examined gambling addiction from a societal perspective and an individual perspective. We used a qualitative research method when we conducted our seven interviews with active in the field of gambling addiction. The interviews ranged from traditional one-on-one interviews to telephone interviews to mail interviews. In conclusion, we found that gambling addiction is a problem that is treated on a individual level but understood on both a societal level as well as an individual level. It is a social problem that is on the rise but it requires more attention from society to make any greater impact.