Behind the allure of gambling: A qualitative exploration of the existential yearnings of Chinese men with problem gambling in Hong Kong

Yuk-Lin Renita Wong, Yuk Ki Timothy Leung and Choi Wan Dorcas Lau

International Gambling Studies, 2009, vol. 9, issue 3, 189-205

Abstract: Drawing on a qualitative exploratory study of the gambling narratives of a group of Chinese men with problem gambling in Hong Kong, this paper proposes an alternative understanding of problem gambling. Rather than identifying problem gambling as a personal deficit or pathology, a narrative analysis of these Chinese men's gambling stories reveals their existential yearnings behind problem gambling. Told from the perspectives of these men, their gambling narratives invite us as researchers and practitioners to explore the meanings gamblers ascribe to gambling which they derived from the interplay between the socioeconomic and cultural ethos of the society and their personal histories. This offers us new insights into their motivations of gambling. As an attempt to fill the methodological gap in gambling studies, this paper also shows how an in-depth narrative research method can contribute to expanding our understanding of problem gambling beyond pathology.

Date: 2009
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/14459790903222431 (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:taf:intgms:v:9:y:2009:i:3:p:189-205

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.tandfonline.com/pricing/journal/RIGS20

DOI: 10.1080/14459790903222431

Access Statistics for this article

International Gambling Studies is currently edited by Katie Donnelly, David Marshall, Bronwyn Stuart, Alex Blaszczynski and Jan McMillen

More articles in International Gambling Studies from Taylor & Francis Journals
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Chris Longhurst ().