Hell for consumer addiction?: thematic analysis of COVID-19 narratives in a gambling support forum
ISSN: 2042-6763
Article publication date: 18 May 2023
Issue publication date: 29 May 2023
Abstract
Purpose
The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in public health measures which unintentionally made unfortunate individual-, community- and system-level impacts. People experiencing gambling harm have distinctive vulnerabilities that are exacerbated during this period of uncertainty, physical distancing, self-isolation and changes to treatment services. This paper aims to investigate narratives of gambling harm to understand unmet needs in a COVID-19 context.
Design/methodology/approach
A leading international gambling support forum was mined for all posts associated with COVID-19 during 2020 and thematically analyzed.
Findings
A series of themes and subthemes that gamblers responded to the pandemic with a series of adaptive and maladaptive behaviors in line with the integrative theoretical framework of maladaptive consumption. Additionally, people experiencing gambling harm are disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the standard public health notices do not meet their unique needs.
Originality/value
This research builds upon knowledge of the antecedents and consequences of maladaptive consumption behavior. Further, the findings show that the lack of preventative measures, such as targeted and timely information to combat adverse outcomes, and reflexive support services has made this time more challenging.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
Summary statement of contribution: This research makes an original contribution to knowledge by being the first to analyze short narratives on COVID-19 sourced from a gambling support forum. Some of the themes found in the analysis have not been presented in past research. The implications for these findings show the adaptive and maladaptive responses of gamblers to COVID-19. Further implications are underperformance of services that have not adapted to societal changes caused by a pandemic further disadvantaging an already vulnerable consumer group.
Citation
Brownlow, L. and Li, E. (2023), "Hell for consumer addiction?: thematic analysis of COVID-19 narratives in a gambling support forum", Journal of Social Marketing, Vol. 13 No. 3, pp. 434-448. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSOCM-04-2022-0069
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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