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Worldpeace you quoted “My psychology professor and Robert Perkinson will swear by this.”
Would this be the professor out of hawaii? It is fine to respect a professor but in the end they are just people like all of us with an opinion. Take a moment to draw on your own experiances and form your own opinions and don’t blindly follow anothers.
I agree with the poster stating this thread should be canned! Only giving morons the fire power they are looking for! If we felt guilty would we still be here – I doubt it! Most of us are pretty good people despite having moments of lapse :Nod:
domniqe no one ever dies from gambling addiciton? Please dont talk about things you no nothing about. FTR suicide rates for gambling addicts is higher than any other addiction!
axl wrote:I agree with the poster stating this thread should be canned!I’d prefer threads not be canned unless they turn into flamefests. If this can remain a civil discussion without insults, then it’s good to talk about philosophical issues.
axl wrote:FTR suicide rates for gambling addicts is higher than any other addiction!Causation or correlation? And… actually, they died from suicide, not gambling addiction.
Suicide rates among police officers are extremely high. Does that mean that the promotion of people becoming police officers is bad somehow?
I’d say that if you want to make a causation case for either of those, it’s the stress involved. I also think you’d want to compare both of those to suicide rates for different types of life events people have had. Maybe someone who has had a spouse die, or bankrupsy filers, divorcees, etc. Maybe the drug addicts die from the drug before they get to the point of suicide. I don’t know.
It just seems like some of you would like to simplify the issue down to a thing or two in order to make your point. It’s not a simple issue, and complex issues deserve complex discussion, without people getting mad.
Heres what the latest government study on suicides reported:
Quote:Suicide in the U.S.A.Based on Current (2002)Statistics 1. In 2002 (the latest year for which we have national statistics), there were 31,655 suicides in the U.S. (87 suicides per day; 1 suicide every 17 minutes), with 11.0 of every 100,000 Americans killing themselves.
2. Suicide is the eleventh leading cause of death.
3. Suicide rates in the U.S. can best be characterized as mostly stable over time with a slight tendency toward a decrease. After six consecutive years of decrease (from 12.1 in 1993 to 10.7 in 2000), there was an insignificant increase in 2001 (10.
and in 2002 (11.0).4. Rates of suicide are highest in the Mountain States.
5. Males complete suicide at a rate four times that of females. However, females attempt suicide three times more often than males.
6. Relative to those younger, rates of completed suicide are highest among the elderly (age 65 and over).
7. Elderly adults have rates of suicide close to 50% higher than that of the nation as a whole (all ages).
8. Youth (ages 15-24) suicide rates increased more than 200% from the 1950’s to the late 1970’s. From the late 1970’s to the mid 1990’s, suicide rates for youth remained stable and, more recently, have slightly decreased.1 December 2004
9. Suicide ranks third as a cause of death among young (15-24) Americans behind accidents and homicides.
10. Firearms remain the most commonly utilized method of completing suicide by essentially all groups. More than half (54%) of the individuals who took their own lives in 2002 used this method. Both African American and Caucasian males used it more often than their female counterparts.
11. Although firearms were the most frequently used method of suicide by African American females, the most common method of suicide for all females was poisoning, In fact, poisoning has surpassed firearms for female suicides since 2001.
12. White suicide rates (12.2) are more than twice as high as those of non-whites (5.5).
13. Native Americans (American Indians) are the racial/ethnic group with the highest overall suicide rate, but large variations exist among tribal groups.
14. Suicide rates have traditionally decreased in times of war and increased in times of economic crises.
15. Suicide rates are the highest among the divorced, separated, and widowed and lowest among the married.
Research Findings
• Although there are no official statistics on attempted suicide (e.g., non-fatal actions) it is generally estimated that there is 25 attempts for each death by suicide.
• Risk of attempted (nonfatal) suicide is greatest among females and the young.
• Females have generally been found to make 3 times as many attempts as males.
• Ratios of attempted to completed suicides for youth are estimated to range between 100 to 1 and 200 to 1.
• Mental health diagnoses are generally associated with a higher rate of suicide. Psychological autopsy studies reflect that more than 90% of completed suicides had one or more mental disorders.
• Diagnosis groups are at particular risk include: depression, schizophrenia, drug and/or chemical dependency and conduct disorders (in adolescence).
• There is a relationship between depression and suicide; the risk of suicide is increased to more than 50 percent in depressed individuals. On average about 60 percent of suicides were depressed.
• There is a relationship between alcoholism and suicide; the risk of suicide in alcoholics is 50 to 70 percent higher than the general population.
• Feelings of hopelessness (e.g., there is no solution to my problem) are found to be more predictive of suicide risk than a diagnoses of depression per se.
• Socially isolated individuals are generally found to be at a higher risk for suicide.
• The vast majority of individuals who are suicidal often display clues and warning signs.
• Individuals may display one or more of the problems or “signs” detailed below. The following list describes some potential factors of risk for suicide. If observed, a professional evaluation is strongly recommended:
• Presence of a psychiatric disorder (e.g., depression, drug or alcohol, behavior disorders, conduct disorder [e.g., runs away or has been incarcerated]).
• The expression/communication of thoughts of suicide, death, dying or afterlife (in a context of sadness, boredom, hopelessness or negative feelings).
• Impulsive and aggressive behavior; frequent expressions of rage.
• Increase use of alcohol or drugs.
• Recent severe stressor (e.g., difficulties in dealing with sexual orientation; unplanned pregnancy, significant real or anticipated loss; etc.).
• Family instability; significant family conflict.Other Issues
• The designation of “survivor of suicide” refers to the family members and friends who remain alive following the death of their loved one by suicide.
• Although the number of survivors is difficult to calculate, conservative estimates indicate that there are six survivors for every completed suicide. Based on data from 1977 to 2002, we can estimate that the number of survivors in the U.S. is approximately 4.64 million; close to 190,000 survivors of suicide were included in 2002.SourcesThe information for this fact sheet was gathered from the National Vital Statistics Reports on the National Center for Health Statistics website (http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/Default.htm) run by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Unless specified otherwise, information presented refers to the latest available data (i.e. 2001).American Association of SuicidologyThe goal of the American Association of Suicidology (AAS) is to understand and prevent suicide. AAS promotes research, public awareness programs, education, and training for professionals, survivors, and all interested persons. AAS serves as a national clearinghouse for information on suicide. AAS has many resources and publications, which are available to its membership and the general public. For membership information, please contact:American Association for Suicidology 5221 Wisconsin Avenue, N. W.Washington, D.C. 20015 Email: [email protected]ebsite: http://www.suicidology.org(202) 237-2280 Fax: (202) 237-2282Because its been brought up several times in the discussion I decided to do some research on Suicide and its cited causes and statistics. There is literally tons of data available here:
The data is presented without a viewpoint and is interesting reading. I also checked to see about the highest statistical rates for suicide by profession. The highest is the medical field. Also mentioned were police officers and military personal. The general consensus was that high stress jobs did see a small statistical increase of suicide over other less stressful ones, but profession was NOT as major a contributor as other factors such as age and mental health.
In reading all the available materials I did not see any reference to Gamblers (professional or recreational) as being any more prone to suicide then anyone else.
I am not saying that people (professors included) havent stated that problem gambling is a major risk factor for suicide, but I can find no statistical evidence to coroborate that claim.
If anyone can point to any articles online by physicians or psychologists that contend that gambling additiction is a major cause of suicide I would appreciate you posting a link.
Oneguy2nv wrote:And… actually, they died from suicide, not gambling addiction.If that gambling addict who shot himself in the head hadnt lost his families entire savings, home, car, etc he probably wouldnt have killed himself though he would most likely STILL be in the casino. Correlated yes, caused by? debatable yes/no/maybe.
I agree with you that most of the time canning threads is the wrong thing to do, and this one probably shouldnt be deleted but rather canned into a private area. My only point was to reinforce the view of another poster that some people will pounce on this food for thought. They will see a group of online gaming promoters talking about addiction and guilt and use it against the industry. Heck the Guardian probably already has an editor on the story LOL some things are better left behind closed doors.
Yes there is a small percentage of gambling addicts that commit suicide. But gambling addicts have alot of other reasons, because of the gambling problem some choose death, bankruptcy, divorce ect… these I would consider off shoots of the problem gambler. So statistically speaking, suicides rates for gambling addicts may masked by other reasons.
Remember the Wall Street crash, the suicide rate certainly jumped that day, and I mean literally jumped, brokers were jumping out of thier office windows.
A gambling addict may choose death but it may not be recorded as gambling related suicide. For this reason I strongly believe suicide rates are alot higher than what is being reported.
Being a philosophy major the question of quilt is an invalid one. Because gambling has been here since the beginning of time. But from a moral and ethical stand point all we can do is offer quidance to the problem gambler.
Money has no intrinsic value but people do. greek39
I wander after all this why he is still a fish?
poker does not like casino you r playing with people not the software has edge there…….
So practice your skills the more you play the more you win. If you have addiction in it ok congratulation you will get tons of money in my opinion.
lol……….:rollover:
axl wrote:Heck the Guardian probably already has an editor on the story LOL some things are better left behind closed doors.People will write articles with the view they want to propagate in many cases.
They’ll quote the statistics they like, and ignore the ones they don’t like. Same thing if anyone quoted this thread. They’ll assign causes when no cause has been established. There’s really no way to avoid that.
Open discussions on the issue help things, IMO.
Problem gamblers may have a high risk of suicide because they (also already were or) turned into problem gamblers or problem drinkers. Maybe the gambling caused the divorce. Maybe the drinking caused the divorce. Maybe the divorce turned them toward drinking and gambling before the suicide.
We could take a set of data with those factors involved, and attribute the suicide to any of those factors.
Lies, damn lies, and statistics. We’ve all heard that. If they wanted to quote the thread, they should give a specific reference. If a “study” or “poll” comes out and they don’t reveal the methodology, it’s typically not so meaningful. A quote without context is also the same way. Politicians make an art out of both.
While I have my doubts sometimes, I’d like to think that most of us here have an academic attitude. I’ve learned a lot reading this thread. People who are on the fence with gambling issues might learn a lot as well.
Very interesting thread!
There are loads of different opinions, but that is as it should be. How boring would this world be if everybody agrees on everything?
Just a quick thought: If a person with a gambling problem wants to gamble online, would you rather:
He visits your site where he can make informed decisions about which casinos to use, any tips or strategies he can use, etc, or
He visits a dodgy site where, on top of everything else, he gets ripped off as well.
At the end of the day I want to give people as much information as possible to make their own informed decisions. What they do with the information is up to them.
5. Males complete suicide at a rate four times that of females. However, females attempt suicide three times more often than males.
Yet another thing men do better then woman!:1circling
In my opinion ALL addictions play with a death wish and are based on an unhealthy, non-viable personality.
Yes, I am including my own addiction to nicotine which I kicked 10 years ago. Still, I often want to pick up a pack of cigarettes after all that time. My mom smoked 1 cigarette a day, 2 if she was feeling frivolous. She was a smoker, but not addicted and wasn’t smoking in a fatalistic way. I smoked 3+ packs and had a chronic cough – a fatalistic addiction.
No one can be responsible for severe personality flaws of other people.
I keep going back to the example of the mom and pop store, exploiting such faulty personalities with beer, liquor, cigarettes, tobacco and lottery tickets.
By far the most frequent, destructive and fatal addiction is alcohol.
I would love to see some stats on the frequency of various addictions.
People with addictive personalities walk through a life that is full of temptations and traps. Depending on opportunity and personal experience and inclination they fall for one thing or another, from alcohol through nicotine, sugar, carbohydrates, extreme sports and other adrenaline related activities, through caffeine and gambling and a zillion things in between.
All the things we would have to outlaw to keep an addictive personality from following their fatalistic personality flaw is staggering. We would have few goods left to sell, and very few jobs would be left.
Not to mention no one could have any fun or indulgence for fear of triggering an addiction in someone else.
My best friend is addicted to cookies. His wife must check the house for stashes. I find this addiction quite amusing.greek39
greek39 wrote:My best friend is addicted to cookies. His wife must check the house for stashes. I find this addiction quite amusing.greek39I still think this has a higher mortality rate than a gambling addiction does.
Gambling addiction can be the cause for people to take their own lives, but don’t try to argue that it’s worse than any other addiction, because it’s better than a lot of them. All addictions are bad, but I’d rather be addicted to gambling than to crack/meth/what have you. I’d bet (see there, already starting) that I’d lose all of my money in the process, but I wouldn’t die as a result of it.
And if whoever said that was talking about the most difficult to quit… well, I don’t have any first-hand experience with gambling addicts, nor do I have statistics, so I’ll take your word for it.
