Gambling involves placing something of value on an activity based entirely on chance in hopes of winning a profit. It has been a part of virtually every society since prerecorded history and is an integral component of many local customs and rites of passage. While most people who gamble have fun, a significant minority become disordered and may meet Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) criteria for gambling pathology. The negative impacts of gambling are primarily financial, but also include social and community\/society level costs.<\/p>\n
The effects of gambling can be structuralized using a model of negative and positive impacts; costs and benefits. The negative impacts occur at a personal level to the gambler and are largely financial in nature. Interpersonal and community\/society level costs are more complex to measure, but can be quantified using health-related quality of life weights, similar to those used in alcohol and drug research.<\/p>\n
The benefits of gambling can be seen at a personal, interpersonal and community\/society\/environmental level. Often, gambling is used to fulfill basic human needs, such as a desire for excitement and the sense of belonging. People also use it to escape from the stress of daily life and even to make money. These motivations are particularly relevant for young people, men and people with low incomes who can gain much more from a gamble than they can lose. But in addition to these benefits, gambling can lead to an increase in anxiety and depression as well as to problems with family, work, health and relationships.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Gambling involves placing something of value on an activity based entirely on chance in hopes of winning a profit. It <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2516","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n