- Title
- Convenient consumption : a critical qualitative inquiry into the gambling practices of younger women in Australia
- Creator
- Thomas, Samantha; Pitt, Hannah; Randle, Melanie; Cowlishaw, Sean; Rintoul, Angela; Kairouz, Sylvie; Daube, Mike
- Date
- 2022
- Type
- Text; Journal article
- Identifier
- http://researchonline.federation.edu.au/vital/access/HandleResolver/1959.17/190583
- Identifier
- vital:17689
- Identifier
-
https://doi.org/10.1093/heapro/daac153
- Identifier
- ISSN:1460-2245 (ISSN)
- Abstract
- There are a range of stereotypes and assumptions associated with women's gambling behaviours. While researchers have demonstrated that the practices associated with women's gambling are changing and becoming increasingly normalized, there is a limited understanding of how younger women ascribe meanings to these practices. This study explored the gambling practices of younger women. Forty-one women (20-40 years) participated in qualitative telephone interviews. Participants were asked open-ended questions about personal engagement in gambling, including experiences of gambling, gambling engagement, and experiences with different gambling products and environments. Data interpretation was guided by reflexive thematic analysis. Three themes were constructed from the data: (i) gambling infrastructures, including both products and the embedding of gambling in community environments, contributed to the convenient and regular consumption of gambling, with gambling easy to access and engage with; (ii) social networks and intergenerational gambling practices impacted the perceived social value and competencies related to gambling; and (iii) technology facilitated new gambling practices, routinizing gambling behaviours through automation and building perceived competencies with a range of gambling products. Gambling regulation and public health responses to gambling often focus on either individual behaviours or product characteristics. This study suggests that this focus is too narrow and excludes important influences on younger women's gambling practices, which include the infrastructure that supports the provision and consumption of gambling products. Public health research, policy and practice must consider the full range of determinants that may contribute to the initiation and continuation of gambling in younger women. © The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press. Younger women’s engagement with gambling is changing. While there has been a significant focus on the gambling behaviours of men, very little research has investigated how women engage in different forms of gambling. We conducted in-depth telephone interviews with n = 41 women (20–40 years) in Australia about their personal engagement in gambling, their experiences of gambling, their motivations to gamble, and their engagement with different gambling products and environments. First, we found that the embedding of gambling in community environments (e.g. lotteries at shopping centres) meant that gambling was easy to access and engage with. This led to the convenient and regular consumption of some gambling products. Second, existing social practices among participants’ social networks (including friends and family members) contributed to women feeling that gambling had social value, and that they had the skills to successfully participate in different forms of gambling. Finally, new technologies created routine gambling behaviours. For example, women automated the purchase of lottery tickets or used apps to help to build complex bets on activities such as sports. We conclude that public health and health promotion research, policy and practice must consider the unique factors that may influence the gambling behaviours of younger women.
- Publisher
- NLM (Medline)
- Relation
- Health promotion international Vol. 37, no. 6 (2022), p.
- Rights
- All metadata describing materials held in, or linked to, the repository is freely available under a CC0 licence
- Rights
- https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
- Rights
- Copyright © The Author(s) 2022
- Rights
- Open Access
- Subject
- 4206 Public health; 4407 Policy and administration; Gambling; Public health; Qualitative; Social practices; Women
- Full Text
- Reviewed
- Hits: 704
- Visitors: 742
- Downloads: 45
| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | SOURCE1 | Published version | 161 KB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |