Gambling addictions could be cured through extreme sports

A new study from the University of Bergen (UiB) in Norway has drawn a direct comparison between behavioural features of extreme sport enthusiasts and compulsive gamblers, yielding the result that the two thrill-seeking practices are not dissimilar in their drive for intensity of experience. The results could help to channel addictive tendencies into more positive outcomes

The research centred around the premise that gamblers could be stimulated to try a healthier form of addiction, exchanging economic detriment for the highs and lows of the extreme sports player. The risks may be even higher, but the lifestyle appears to be more healthy. The team, heading up by associate professor Helga Myrseth from the Department of Psychology, examined and surveyed a group of sky divers.

Myrseth said: “One of our major discoveries was that extreme scores for impulsiveness or thrill-seeking don’t have to be negative or linked to a diagnosis, such as gambling addiction. It may as well be connected to more wholesome leisure activities, such as extreme sports.”

The crucial difference between the two appeared to be that whereas extreme sports enthusiasts seek out new experiences every time, gamblers appear to have a much more ‘routine’ based approach, accounting for their willingness to spend considerable amount of time at the same slot machine, as one example.

The study will hopefully start to suggest how this addictive routine could be broken and channelled into the more intense, sporadic experiences of extreme sports, dramatically increasing the health and wellbeing of the person involved.

More research is also needed to establish what creates these desires in the first place – are they something people are born with or do they arise from seeking out certain activities?

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Published: Monday, 10th October 2011 by Ellen Haggan