72 research outputs found
Exploring the Experiences of Pacific Peoples Within Twelve Step Programmes
No full textBackground: Pacific peoples present with disproportionately higher rates of substance use disorder than the general population, however, are less likely to access mental health and addictions services for support. Despite recent investments into the mental health and addictions sector, uptake of support for Pacific peoples experiencing addictions remains low. The call from Pacific peoples heard throughout the He Ara Oranga Inquiry into Mental Health and Addictions (2018) has been for the adoption of ‘Pacific ways’; promoting Pacific models of health and focusing on healthy relationships, use of Pacific languages and feelings of connectedness. This study aims to explore the experiences of Pacific peoples within Twelve Step Programmes, to ascertain the beneficial and non-beneficial aspects from a Pacific perspective. The findings from this research are intended to inform the development of meaningful interventions for Pacific peoples seeking addictions support.
Method: This research project conducted face to face talanoa style interviews with six Pacific peoples who have attended a Twelve Step Programme within the past two years. Interviews were semi-structured and underpinned by the Health Research Council of New Zealand (2014) Pacific Health Research Guidelines. A qualitative research approach was applied using Charmaz’s Constructivist Grounded Theory (2006) methodology alongside Braun and Clarke’s (2006) thematic analysis.
Results: Three main themes emerged from the data, which were categorized into a set of subthemes within each primary theme. The first primary theme centred around Pacific peoples lacking knowledge of Twelve Step Programmes. The second theme detailed aspects of Twelve Step Programmes that resonated with Pacific peoples, such as; hospitality and welcoming, spirituality, talanoa, fellowship and connectedness, and volition. The third primary theme explored aspects of Twelve Step Programmes that were non-beneficial for Pacific peoples, which centred around Pacific people being the ethnic minority in Twelve Step Programmes; the need for a Pacific subgroup, and the need for separate spaces for men and women.
Conclusion: The recommendations from this research project have been made with the view to enhance and further develop on addictions supports available for Pacific peoples. This research may be of benefit to the alcohol and drug sector; frontline addictions services, mental health and addictions workforce development bodies, Pacific health organisations and policy makers
From Games to Gambling: An Exploratory Study of Tongan-born and New Zealand-born Male Perceptions and Experiences of Gambling and Problem Gambling in New Zealand
No full textIn the early 1990s, Pacific peoples in New Zealand were four to six times more at risk of developing problem-gambling behaviours than the general population. Almost 30 years on, Pacific peoples continue to be more at risk than the general population, despite increasing public health efforts and treatment service provisions introduced to address this social and health issue. In looking at why this is so, my first concern was to ask why the delivery of the prevailing gambling-focussed programmes was not influencing Pacific gambling behaviours. In seeking to answer this question, it became clear that while there was a significant amount of statistical data on Pacific gambling behaviours, there was little on factors which might contribute to Pacific peoples to being at risk of developing problem-gambling behaviours, such as the place and endurance of Pacific cultural values, aspirations and, their daily family life experiences in New Zealand today. Hence, the need for this qualitative study. Given the diversity of New Zealand’s Pacific population, I decided that an ethnic-specific approach would enable a more in-depth study and that the focus should be Tongan males, given their central place in Tonga’s hierarchical and monarchical systems and as head of the family, and their role in holding and passing on family knowledge.
The aims of this qualitative study were to explore Tongan male perceptions and experiences of gambling and to identify how their attitudes to gambling and problem-gambling behaviours were learnt, including and determining the importance of intergenerational transfer. The research design was interpretivist/ constructivist and phenomenological through the lens of a Tongan worldview. To capture the nature of intergenerational transfer, participants comprised of two groups – elders who had been born in Tonga and migrated to New Zealand, and New Zealand-born Tongan youth. Recruitment of participants was through snowball sampling from churches, kava-drinking circles and other community spaces. A total of 28 elders and 18 youth participated through focus group talanoa and individual talanoa. These were in Tongan or English as appropriate, and audio-recorded and transcribed by me. This study employed the descriptive thematic analysis drawing on components of Interpretative Phenomenological Approach.
The first and overarching findings confirmed that there is no Tongan term for gambling nor, for problem gambling. At the same time, both elders and youth gave many instances of positive and negative outcomes and also examples of what would be classified as gambling through ‘activities’ and ‘acts’. Notably, among the participants, there were five Mātu’a and two To’utupu who did not engage in gambling activities due to gambling being a ‘waste of money’ and because of the problem-gambling behaviours of family members. The Mātu’a associated gambling with social and communal purposes, such as recreation and socialising together, with elements of competition and pride in winning also playing a large role here. Their initial gambling participation was through card games with their parents and other family members in Tonga. Over time, new forms evolved which included the exchange of cash and goods for example. However, in the early days, the purpose of these activities was mainly directed to supporting community initiatives, such as churches and village fundraisers. On migration to New Zealand, their earlier introduction to gambling was amplified through horse race betting at the TAB, mainly as a social occasion with other Tongans. For the To’utupu, gambling behaviours were learnt at home through social activities such as card games before being increased in schools, in workplaces, and in the online and technology space. Almost all To’utupu commented on their initial gambling activity through card games at home with family members. The majority of the To’utupu associated gambling with the need to win money as a quick fix and with being an easy way to win money. Gambling was also associated with status enhancement to maintain social status in their family and wider society. This study coins a new concept within the gambling and problem-gambling literature that I have called ‘cultural gambling’, which leads to the identification of status enhancement as a reason why Pacific peoples may be more at risk of developing problem-gambling behaviours. This is amplified by Tonga’s monarchical, hierarchical and familial systems. The majority of the participants were not aware of any policy document or problem-gambling preventative programmes. Preventative programmes and strategies are identified, which could help to minimise gambling harm amongst Tongans and other Pacific communities. Challenges and opportunities for future research and policy design are also included
Patterns of Family and Intimate Partner Violence in Problem Gamblers
No full textWhile the evidence about the statistical co-occurrence of family violence and problem gambling is growing, the mechanism by which the two behaviours are related is less clear. This study sought to clarify the dynamics of the problem behaviours, including the role of gender in victimisation and perpetration of violence in the family. Two-hundred-and-twelve treatment seeking problem gamblers (50.5% females) were recruited for interviews about past year FV and IPV experiences. The interviews included questions about the types of FV and IPV using the HITS tool (Sherin et al. in Fam Med Kans City 30:508-512, 1998). The questions addressed multiple family members, the temporal order of violence and gambling and the perceived associations between the two behaviours. The result show that well over half (60.8%; 95 CI = 54.1-67.2) of the participants reported some form of violence in the past 12 months, with no gender differences in relation to perpetration and victimisation. Bidirectional violence (43.9%; 95 CI = 37.4-50.6) was significantly more common than 'perpetration only' (11.3%; 95 CI = 7.7-16.3) or 'victimisation only' (5.7%; 95 CI = 3.3-9.6). Violence was mostly verbal, although considerable rates of physical violence also featured in the responses. 'Participants' own gambling preceded violence in a majority of the interviews but a small group of IPV victims reported that being a victim had led to their problematic gambling. These results can be used inform prevention, better treatment matching and capacity building in family violence and problem gambling services, where a significant focus should be on situational IPV.Aino Suomi, Nicki A. Dowling, Shane Thomas, Max Abbott, Maria Bellringer, Malcolm Battersby ... et al
From Games to Gambling: An Exploratory Study of Tongan-born and New Zealand-born Male Perceptions and Experiences of Gambling and Problem Gambling in New Zealand
No full textIn the early 1990s, Pacific peoples in New Zealand were four to six times more at risk of developing problem-gambling behaviours than the general population. Almost 30 years on, Pacific peoples continue to be more at risk than the general population, despite increasing public health efforts and treatment service provisions introduced to address this social and health issue. In looking at why this is so, my first concern was to ask why the delivery of the prevailing gambling-focussed programmes was not influencing Pacific gambling behaviours. In seeking to answer this question, it became clear that while there was a significant amount of statistical data on Pacific gambling behaviours, there was little on factors which might contribute to Pacific peoples to being at risk of developing problem-gambling behaviours, such as the place and endurance of Pacific cultural values, aspirations and, their daily family life experiences in New Zealand today. Hence, the need for this qualitative study. Given the diversity of New Zealand’s Pacific population, I decided that an ethnic-specific approach would enable a more in-depth study and that the focus should be Tongan males, given their central place in Tonga’s hierarchical and monarchical systems and as head of the family, and their role in holding and passing on family knowledge.
The aims of this qualitative study were to explore Tongan male perceptions and experiences of gambling and to identify how their attitudes to gambling and problem-gambling behaviours were learnt, including and determining the importance of intergenerational transfer. The research design was interpretivist/ constructivist and phenomenological through the lens of a Tongan worldview. To capture the nature of intergenerational transfer, participants comprised of two groups – elders who had been born in Tonga and migrated to New Zealand, and New Zealand-born Tongan youth. Recruitment of participants was through snowball sampling from churches, kava-drinking circles and other community spaces. A total of 28 elders and 18 youth participated through focus group talanoa and individual talanoa. These were in Tongan or English as appropriate, and audio-recorded and transcribed by me. This study employed the descriptive thematic analysis drawing on components of Interpretative Phenomenological Approach.
The first and overarching findings confirmed that there is no Tongan term for gambling nor, for problem gambling. At the same time, both elders and youth gave many instances of positive and negative outcomes and also examples of what would be classified as gambling through ‘activities’ and ‘acts’. Notably, among the participants, there were five Mātu’a and two To’utupu who did not engage in gambling activities due to gambling being a ‘waste of money’ and because of the problem-gambling behaviours of family members. The Mātu’a associated gambling with social and communal purposes, such as recreation and socialising together, with elements of competition and pride in winning also playing a large role here. Their initial gambling participation was through card games with their parents and other family members in Tonga. Over time, new forms evolved which included the exchange of cash and goods for example. However, in the early days, the purpose of these activities was mainly directed to supporting community initiatives, such as churches and village fundraisers. On migration to New Zealand, their earlier introduction to gambling was amplified through horse race betting at the TAB, mainly as a social occasion with other Tongans. For the To’utupu, gambling behaviours were learnt at home through social activities such as card games before being increased in schools, in workplaces, and in the online and technology space. Almost all To’utupu commented on their initial gambling activity through card games at home with family members. The majority of the To’utupu associated gambling with the need to win money as a quick fix and with being an easy way to win money. Gambling was also associated with status enhancement to maintain social status in their family and wider society. This study coins a new concept within the gambling and problem-gambling literature that I have called ‘cultural gambling’, which leads to the identification of status enhancement as a reason why Pacific peoples may be more at risk of developing problem-gambling behaviours. This is amplified by Tonga’s monarchical, hierarchical and familial systems. The majority of the participants were not aware of any policy document or problem-gambling preventative programmes. Preventative programmes and strategies are identified, which could help to minimise gambling harm amongst Tongans and other Pacific communities. Challenges and opportunities for future research and policy design are also included
StandingTallNZ: An Indigenous Psychology Approach to Developing an E-health Website to Support Māori & Pacific Men, Their Support People and Community Groups Affected by Male Childhood Sexual Violence
No full textIn Aotearoa / New Zealand, sexual violence is a topic clouded in misinformation, fear, and stereotypes. Approximately 1 in 6 males in the general population will have experienced sexual violence in their lives. For Māori males, it is approximately 1 in 4 and Pacific males 1 in 5. With these high rates of sexual violence, how can we support Māori and Pacific men coming forward using online technology when they are ready?
The solution to this question came from thirty men who identified as being both Māori and Pacific ethnicities known in this research as "bros." All the bros had been sexually abused as children. I asked them questions exploring themes around using current online technology and how it assisted or hindered getting the right kind of help for their specific needs in dealing with their childhood sexual violent trauma.
I then asked fifteen support people (using semi-structured interviews) and thirty-five health and social professionals from four organisations (via focus groups) what they would want in a website to support themselves and their whānau / clients. As a result, eighty people in these key groups participated. I then worked with forty-two experts from the social, health, and design sectors to lend their expertise and knowledge when themes surfaced in their specialised areas. This led to 122 people being involved in the doctoral research.
As a result of completing a Format Three: Creative pathway, a simple and easy to access website and online media platforms called StandingTallNZ.org have been created. StandingTallNZ.org was a name gifted by a Māori elder who themselves had also been affected by childhood sexual violence. The aim of the website and the resources developed is to connect with individuals, support people, and community organisations across Aotearoa, New Zealand, affected by childhood sexual violence. This doctoral work was recognised in 2020 when StandingTallNZ.org was a finalist in the Public Good Category at The Designers Institute of New Zealand Awards.
This academic work has been underpinned by Te Ao Marama's framework, a seven-stage framework that I created as part of my second Masters's in Health Practice (Stevens, 2014). The purpose of Te Ao Marama was to support people affected by sexual violence. I wanted to apply it in this document and understand its effectiveness in understanding sexual violence within an academic context. Throughout the doctoral research, I describe this framework in more detail as Te Ao Marama is central to how this report and work completed has been written and created. This doctoral report describes how all this work was achieved and the stages taken. It can be thought of as the companion piece to the StandingTallNZ.org website & resources available online
Problem gambling and family violence: family member reports of prevalence, family impacts and family coping
No full textThis article reports on the Australian arm of a large-scale study of the patterns and prevalence of co-occurrence of family violence and problem gambling in Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong.AbstractThere exists only a small number of empirical studies investigating the patterns of family violence in problem gambling populations, although some evidence exists that intimate partner violence and child abuse are among the most severe interpersonal correlates of problem gambling. The current article reports on the Australian arm of a large-scale study of the patterns and prevalence of co-occurrence of family violence and problem gambling in Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong. The current study screened 120 help-seeking family members of problem gamblers in a range of clinical services for both family violence and problem gambling. The main results showed that 52.5% reported some form of family violence in the past 12 months: 20.0% reported only victimisation, 10.8% reported only perpetration and 21.6% reported both victimisation and perpetration of family violence. Parents, current and ex-partners were most likely to be both perpetrators and victims of family violence. There were no gender differences in reciprocal violence but females were more likely to be only victims and less likely to report no violence in comparison to males. Most of the 32 participants interviewed in depth, reported that gambling generally preceded family violence. The findings suggest that perpetration of family violence was more likely to occur as a reaction to deeply-rooted and accumulated anger and mistrust whereas victimisation was an outcome of gambler’s anger brought on by immediate gambling losses and frustration. While multiple and intertwined negative family impacts were likely to occur in the presence of family violence, gambling-related coping strategies were not associated with the presence or absence of family violence. The implications of the findings for service providers are discussed.Authored by Aino Suomi, Alun C Jackson, Nicki A Dowling, Tiffany Lavis, Janet Patford, Shane A Thomas, Peter Harvey, Max Abbott, Maria E Bellringer, Jane Koziol-McLain and Sue Cockman
Risk Factors for Increased Online Gambling during COVID-19 Lockdowns in New Zealand: A Longitudinal Study
No full textRecent research investigating changes in gambling behaviors during periods of COVID-19 social restrictions, such as enforced lockdowns, are somewhat limited by methodology, being generally cross-sectional in nature and with participant samples recruited via online panels. The present study overcame these limitations via a secondary analysis of data collected in 2012 and 2015 from a New Zealand (NZ) longitudinal gambling study, with questions related to gambling behaviors due to COVID-19 lockdown periods included in an additional data collection, of participants who had previously scored as a risky gambler, during 2020/21. Almost one-quarter of online gamblers increased their gambling during lockdown with this most likely to be on overseas gambling sites, instant scratch card gambling and Lotto. The only sociodemographic risk factor for increased online gambling was higher education. Behavioral risk factors included being a current low risk/moderate risk/problem gambler, a previously hazardous alcohol drinker or past participation in free-to-play gambling-type games. These past behaviors could act as trigger points for health services or family and friends to monitor a person’s gambling behaviors during lockdown, or future stressful periods when usual terrestrial gambling opportunities are curtailed or unavailable, and to support safer gambling practices
Social Connectedness and Associations with Gambling Risk in New Zealand
No full textMultiple factors are associated with disordered gambling, with some populations having a greater risk for developing disordered gambling than others. The present study, utilising data previously collected for a New Zealand (NZ) national gambling survey, explored the associations of social connectedness and leisure activities with risky gambling behaviour and quality of life. Poorer social connectedness and leisure activities were found to be associated with increased gambling risk and poorer quality of life, respectively. Social connectedness and leisure activities strongly predicted type of gambling activities and quality of life. Furthermore, Māori (NZ’s indigenous population) had lower social connectedness and fewer leisure activities, and a greater gambling risk, as well as higher psychological distress, than the NZ European/Other population. These findings indicate that the risk of progressing from recreational gambling to risky gambling is relatively higher for Māori, and that social connectedness and leisure activities could be contributing factors for this increased risk. It is, therefore, important that social connectedness and leisure activities are seriously considered in public health and treatment efforts to reduce gambling harm for vulnerable populations
Changes in some health and lifestyle behaviours are significantly associated with changes in gambling behaviours: Findings from a longitudinal New Zealand population study
No full textAlthough a large number of studies have investigated associations between risky gambling behaviours and health, lifestyle and social factors, research has not focused on changes in these factors and associations with changes in gambling risk level. This study utilised existing data from the four waves of the longitudinal New Zealand National Gambling Study to examine associations between changes in substance use, mental and physical health, and quality of life and deprivation with changes in gambling risk level over time. A Markov chain transition model was used to perform these analyses using data from participants who had completed all four waves (11,080 data transitions). Although changes in various covariates were associated with changes in all gambling risk levels, the highest number of significant factors was for transitioning into risky gambling from non-problematic gambling, including development, or continuation, of several negative health and lifestyle factors that may possibly be alleviated by transitioning out of risky gambling. These findings highlight the importance of screening for gambling behaviours when assisting people with substance use, health issues, or social situations or conditions in order to provide appropriate and effective social, health and treatment supports for people whose gambling behaviour increases over time
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