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Gambling-related harm as experienced by UK Armed Forces veterans and affected others: a thematic framework analysis

Glen Dighton Orcid Logo, Samantha Treacy Orcid Logo, Alice Hoon Orcid Logo, Simon Dymond Orcid Logo

BMJ Military Health, Pages: military - 2025

Swansea University Authors: Glen Dighton Orcid Logo, Samantha Treacy Orcid Logo, Alice Hoon Orcid Logo, Simon Dymond Orcid Logo

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DOI (Published version): 10.1136/military-2025-003028

Abstract

Introduction Despite recognition of increased gambling vulnerability among military veterans, qualitative understanding of veterans’ lived experiences of gambling harms, including impacts on family members, remains limited. This study explores the gambling histories, service-related influences, psyc...

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Published in: BMJ Military Health
ISSN: 2633-3767 2633-3775
Published: BMJ 2025
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URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa69959
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This study explores the gambling histories, service-related influences, psychosocial impacts and support-seeking behaviours of UK veterans and their affected family members.Methods Thematic framework analysis was conducted on semistructured interviews with six male veterans and three female family members recruited through social media and support settings. Participants were screened using the Problem Gambling Severity Index to confirm severity of gambling-related harm.Results Four primary themes were identified: gambling histories and trajectories, the role of the Armed Forces in gambling behaviour, psychosocial and financial impacts, and barriers and motivations for seeking support. Veterans&#x2019; gambling trajectories varied, with military life often seen to normalise gambling behaviours through accessibility, social reinforcement and stress-related coping mechanisms. Severe financial distress, relationship breakdowns, mental health issues and compromised trust characterised gambling&#x2019;s psychosocial impacts. Key barriers to seeking support included stigma, pride, denial and insufficient tailored services. Conversely, family interventions and personal crises were crucial motivators driving veterans towards recovery.Conclusions This study highlights the profound and complex impacts of gambling-related harm among UK veterans and their families, emphasising military cultural factors and significant psychosocial consequences. Effective interventions must address both individual gambling behaviours and broader family dynamics. Greater availability of veteran-specific support services and stigma reduction could improve help-seeking. 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spelling 2025-09-04T10:25:27.5729153 v2 69959 2025-07-14 Gambling-related harm as experienced by UK Armed Forces veterans and affected others: a thematic framework analysis 2a413b069254b5edfb6509b4c3b41ad7 0000-0002-9283-5114 Glen Dighton Glen Dighton true false 53962bf646ea480d4309ff5b0405aba8 0000-0002-9755-7686 Samantha Treacy Samantha Treacy true false 6ee42ad57b74f8941f4de3f02eed163f 0000-0002-9921-6156 Alice Hoon Alice Hoon true false 8ed0024546f2588fdb0073a7d6fbc075 0000-0003-1319-4492 Simon Dymond Simon Dymond true false 2025-07-14 PSYS Introduction Despite recognition of increased gambling vulnerability among military veterans, qualitative understanding of veterans’ lived experiences of gambling harms, including impacts on family members, remains limited. This study explores the gambling histories, service-related influences, psychosocial impacts and support-seeking behaviours of UK veterans and their affected family members.Methods Thematic framework analysis was conducted on semistructured interviews with six male veterans and three female family members recruited through social media and support settings. Participants were screened using the Problem Gambling Severity Index to confirm severity of gambling-related harm.Results Four primary themes were identified: gambling histories and trajectories, the role of the Armed Forces in gambling behaviour, psychosocial and financial impacts, and barriers and motivations for seeking support. Veterans’ gambling trajectories varied, with military life often seen to normalise gambling behaviours through accessibility, social reinforcement and stress-related coping mechanisms. Severe financial distress, relationship breakdowns, mental health issues and compromised trust characterised gambling’s psychosocial impacts. Key barriers to seeking support included stigma, pride, denial and insufficient tailored services. Conversely, family interventions and personal crises were crucial motivators driving veterans towards recovery.Conclusions This study highlights the profound and complex impacts of gambling-related harm among UK veterans and their families, emphasising military cultural factors and significant psychosocial consequences. Effective interventions must address both individual gambling behaviours and broader family dynamics. Greater availability of veteran-specific support services and stigma reduction could improve help-seeking. Future research should incorporate diverse samples, including female veterans and male family members, to enhance generalisability and intervention efficacy. Journal Article BMJ Military Health 0 military 2025 BMJ 2633-3767 2633-3775 4 8 2025 2025-08-04 10.1136/military-2025-003028 COLLEGE NANME Psychology School COLLEGE CODE PSYS Swansea University SU Library paid the OA fee (TA Institutional Deal) The research described here formed part of a PhD studentship, which was funded by GambleAware (charity no. 1093910, registered in England—no. 4384279). 2025-09-04T10:25:27.5729153 2025-07-14T13:55:13.5932006 Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences School of Psychology Glen Dighton 0000-0002-9283-5114 1 Samantha Treacy 0000-0002-9755-7686 2 Alice Hoon 0000-0002-9921-6156 3 Simon Dymond 0000-0003-1319-4492 4 69959__35026__b578edf2d9fa4ae7b57eff2dbb33be69.pdf 69959.VoR.pdf 2025-09-04T10:23:06.1935972 Output 452787 application/pdf Version of Record true © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2025. This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY- NC 4.0) license. true eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
title Gambling-related harm as experienced by UK Armed Forces veterans and affected others: a thematic framework analysis
spellingShingle Gambling-related harm as experienced by UK Armed Forces veterans and affected others: a thematic framework analysis
Glen Dighton
Samantha Treacy
Alice Hoon
Simon Dymond
title_short Gambling-related harm as experienced by UK Armed Forces veterans and affected others: a thematic framework analysis
title_full Gambling-related harm as experienced by UK Armed Forces veterans and affected others: a thematic framework analysis
title_fullStr Gambling-related harm as experienced by UK Armed Forces veterans and affected others: a thematic framework analysis
title_full_unstemmed Gambling-related harm as experienced by UK Armed Forces veterans and affected others: a thematic framework analysis
title_sort Gambling-related harm as experienced by UK Armed Forces veterans and affected others: a thematic framework analysis
author_id_str_mv 2a413b069254b5edfb6509b4c3b41ad7
53962bf646ea480d4309ff5b0405aba8
6ee42ad57b74f8941f4de3f02eed163f
8ed0024546f2588fdb0073a7d6fbc075
author_id_fullname_str_mv 2a413b069254b5edfb6509b4c3b41ad7_***_Glen Dighton
53962bf646ea480d4309ff5b0405aba8_***_Samantha Treacy
6ee42ad57b74f8941f4de3f02eed163f_***_Alice Hoon
8ed0024546f2588fdb0073a7d6fbc075_***_Simon Dymond
author Glen Dighton
Samantha Treacy
Alice Hoon
Simon Dymond
author2 Glen Dighton
Samantha Treacy
Alice Hoon
Simon Dymond
format Journal article
container_title BMJ Military Health
container_volume 0
container_start_page military
publishDate 2025
institution Swansea University
issn 2633-3767
2633-3775
doi_str_mv 10.1136/military-2025-003028
publisher BMJ
college_str Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences
hierarchytype
hierarchy_top_id facultyofmedicinehealthandlifesciences
hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofmedicinehealthandlifesciences
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences
department_str School of Psychology{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences{{{_:::_}}}School of Psychology
document_store_str 1
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description Introduction Despite recognition of increased gambling vulnerability among military veterans, qualitative understanding of veterans’ lived experiences of gambling harms, including impacts on family members, remains limited. This study explores the gambling histories, service-related influences, psychosocial impacts and support-seeking behaviours of UK veterans and their affected family members.Methods Thematic framework analysis was conducted on semistructured interviews with six male veterans and three female family members recruited through social media and support settings. Participants were screened using the Problem Gambling Severity Index to confirm severity of gambling-related harm.Results Four primary themes were identified: gambling histories and trajectories, the role of the Armed Forces in gambling behaviour, psychosocial and financial impacts, and barriers and motivations for seeking support. Veterans’ gambling trajectories varied, with military life often seen to normalise gambling behaviours through accessibility, social reinforcement and stress-related coping mechanisms. Severe financial distress, relationship breakdowns, mental health issues and compromised trust characterised gambling’s psychosocial impacts. Key barriers to seeking support included stigma, pride, denial and insufficient tailored services. Conversely, family interventions and personal crises were crucial motivators driving veterans towards recovery.Conclusions This study highlights the profound and complex impacts of gambling-related harm among UK veterans and their families, emphasising military cultural factors and significant psychosocial consequences. Effective interventions must address both individual gambling behaviours and broader family dynamics. Greater availability of veteran-specific support services and stigma reduction could improve help-seeking. Future research should incorporate diverse samples, including female veterans and male family members, to enhance generalisability and intervention efficacy.
published_date 2025-08-04T05:23:43Z
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