Lai Hiu Wai. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 62-72). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / List of Figures --- p.i / List of Tables --- p.ii / Chapter Chapter 1: --- Introduction to the Study --- p.1 / Introduction --- p.1 / Profiles of Attendees in Support Groups --- p.5 / Investigating Drop-out and Attendance in Support Groups --- p.6 / Psychological and Relational Factors affecting Relapse and Gambling Behaviors --- p.7 / Motivation to Change --- p.7 / Cognitive evaluation of change --- p.9 / Emotional Effect of the Rock-bottom Experience --- p.9 / Relationship Influence --- p.10 / Religious Coping --- p.12 / Chapter Chapter 2: --- Method --- p.14 / Participants --- p.14 / Demographics --- p.14 / Type of Gambling Activity --- p.15 / General Overview --- p.17 / Phase One --- p.18 / Demographics --- p.18 / Other Background Information --- p.18 / Gambling Behaviors --- p.18 / "Qualitative Session: ""Rock-bottom"" Experience" --- p.19 / Motivation to change --- p.19 / Pros and Cons of Changing --- p.20 / Negative Emotional Arousal --- p.20 / Emotional Social Support --- p.20 / Enabler and Helper Scale --- p.21 / "Religious, Spiritual, and Philosophical Beliefs" --- p.21 / Religious Observance --- p.22 / Higher Power Control --- p.23 / Phase Two --- p.23 / Participants --- p.23 / Self-stigma --- p.24 / Gambling Behaviors --- p.24 / Dropping Out Behaviors --- p.25 / Chapter Chapter 3: --- Results --- p.26 / Rock-bottom Experience --- p.26 / The Profile --- p.30 / Rock-bottom Typology --- p.34 / Correlations with Rock-bottom Experience --- p.35 / Those Staying Longer in the Support Group --- p.39 / "Descriptives about Gambling Outcome, Attendance and Drop Out" --- p.46 / Concept of What Gambling Activities to Quit --- p.47 / Predicting Relapse and Gambling Expenditures --- p.47 / Predicting Attendance and Drop Out --- p.49 / Role of Self-stigma --- p.49 / Chapter Chapter 4: --- Discussion --- p.51 / Insights about the Gender Imbalance --- p.51 / Importance of Social Influence for Chinese Gamblers --- p.53 / The Chinese Gamblers' Rock-bottom Experience --- p.54 / Insights from Attendance and Drop-outs --- p.55 / Protective and Hindering Individual Factors in Successful Control of Gambling --- p.57 / Self-stigmatization --- p.58 / Hurdles and Future Directions in Gambling Research --- p.59 / References --- p.62 / Appendix --- p.73

Increased accessibility and availability of gambling opportunities around the world have contributed to more people having problems with gambling. Current gambling studies have focused on the etiology, prevalence and mechanism for the development of pathological gamblers with few studies examining the processes of change of pathological gamblers into non-gamblers. / Qualitative case analysis has been used in understanding the inner, personal and subjective changes of Chinese male pathological gamblers when concerning their process of change and their difficulties in regulating their gambling behaviour. Participant observations were conducted to collect background information about pathological gamblers and build up trustful relationships with potential respondents. Fourteen recovered gamblers or pathological gamblers have been interviewed. The researcher has utilized narrative analysis to explore the meaning of the narratives of the ex-gamblers and pathological gamblers about their relpases, their identity formation, the role of human agency and about how others have storied their lives into a meaningful configuration when facing their gambling problems. (Abstract shortened by UMI.) / There has been a lack of qualitative studies to understand the narratives of Chinese male gamblers in accounting for their changes from gamblers to non-gamblers. In particular, no studies on Chinese male gamblers have examined the issue of relapses and how pathological gamblers manage relapses. / This study aims to understand the interpretations and narratives made by pathological gamblers during their change. This study will give insights on how Chinese male pathological gamblers are able to abstain from pathological gambling. As relapses are common among pathological gamblers, this study would like to understand why and how relapses occur. Further, the study would like to understand the factors that motivate and maintain changes. Also, it tries to understand how the identified factors of changes such as interpersonal support, the formation of a new identity and meaning of life, the role of spirituality on gamblers' motivation, their connection with family members, have interacted with one another to constitute change. / Leung, Yuk Ki. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 71-01, Section: A, page: 0334. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 300-323). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, MI : ProQuest Information and Learning Company, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, MI : ProQuest Information and Learning Company, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstracts in English and Chinese.

This study is an exploration, through ethnographic and auto-ethnographic inquiry, of the personal world, gambling experiences and underlying biopsychosocial vulnerabilities of three individual case studies - one male and two females - each representing a different sub-type of pathological gambler. It comprises the integration and implementation of a psycho-structural stage matching model to explore comorbidity and identify certain biopsychosocial manifestations in the respective stages of pathological gambling. Long term treatment strategies were identified and patient treatment matching was explored. Further, it comprises my personal relationship and therapeutic treatment of these sub-types of gamblers over a period of one year and longer. In this study it is hypothesized that formulating appropriate matching long term treatment strategies should be based on the stage of change, the phase in the psycho-structural model, as well as the gambler's underlying vulnerability. From this a comprehensive gambling disposition profile can be completed with proper intervention matching approaches. A number of other hypotheses emerged from this study that could provide valuable information and serve as a guideline to those working with pathological gamblers. / Psychology / D.Phil.

This study is an exploration, through ethnographic and auto-ethnographic inquiry, of the personal world, gambling experiences and underlying biopsychosocial vulnerabilities of three individual case studies - one male and two females - each representing a different sub-type of pathological gambler. It comprises the integration and implementation of a psycho-structural stage matching model to explore comorbidity and identify certain biopsychosocial manifestations in the respective stages of pathological gambling. Long term treatment strategies were identified and patient treatment matching was explored. Further, it comprises my personal relationship and therapeutic treatment of these sub-types of gamblers over a period of one year and longer. In this study it is hypothesized that formulating appropriate matching long term treatment strategies should be based on the stage of change, the phase in the psycho-structural model, as well as the gambler's underlying vulnerability. From this a comprehensive gambling disposition profile can be completed with proper intervention matching approaches. A number of other hypotheses emerged from this study that could provide valuable information and serve as a guideline to those working with pathological gamblers. / Psychology / D.Phil.