Morningside Recovery Center Conducts National Survey on Gambling Addiction

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., March 27, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Morningside Recovery, the leading addiction recovery center in Newport Beach, CA, today announced the results of a national survey which asked men and women across the country about their gambling behaviors and patterns. The poll surveyed over 1,030 men and women over the age of 18 on Gambling Addiction and revealed not only their gambling frequencies and perceptions, but concerns about behavior as well as the effects their gambling habits have on their overall wellness.

With the growing availability and access to gambling, from scratch tickets and slot machines, to the now popular mobile apps which enable consumers to buy lotto tickets on various smart phones, several people in the US possess some symptoms of gambling addiction. In an effort to treat people accordingly, Morningside Recovery Center conducted a survey in partnership with SurveyMonkey, to obtain statistics on the number of Americans who are in fact addicted to this type of activity.  

The survey entitled, "Double Down or Bust: How Gambling is an American Addiction" reflects in many ways how men and women over the age of 18 have, in some way, an addiction or slight issue with gambling and may deal with repercussions in their daily lives because of it. "It is crucial to get an accurate view of how often people are gambling in America and why," said Mary Helen Beatificato, CEO of Morningside Recovery Center. "This survey helps gauge the severity of excessive gambling and allows us to develop a specialized form of treatment for those who are suffering from this addiction."

Surprisingly, 27 percent of those who participated in this survey admitted to taking drugs and alcohol while gambling. Among the other key findings:

• 85.9% gamble 0-3 times per year;  8% gamble 4-7 times per year;  3.5% 8-12 times per year; and only 2.7% gamble more than 12 times per year
• 47.5% do not associate drugs and alcohol with gambling; 28.7% sometimes associate the two; 7.5% often associate the two and 6.3% always associate the two
• When asked how people deal with losing or winning, 5.6% said they drink all night; 2.0% turn to drugs; 3.8% go to strip clubs; 88.6% forget about it and move on
• 17.1% chose poker as their gambling game of choice; 23.3% chose Blackjack; 8.1% chose roulette; 3.8% said anything they can bet money on; 47.8% said they didn't have a favorite
• 20.6% of people admitted that if online gambling was legal, it would increase their gambling tendencies, while 79.4% claimed it would not affect them
• 10.9% of participants always believe they will win money when they gamble; 64.3% sometimes believe they will win and 24.8% don't believe they would win

"I think the most interesting part of the survey is that 47.5% of people don't associate Drugs or Alcohol with gambling," said Dr. Gerald Grosso, Clinical Director at Morningside Recovery Center. "This is precisely why we want to bring it to people's attention that not only can people become addicted to drugs and alcohol, but that there is in fact a strong relationship between gambling and addiction; which is extremely overlooked in addiction recovery."

As a result, Morningside Recovery Center has compiled these survey results and will be executing a tailored treatment program at their facility for those who suffer from gambling addiction, which will be led by Dr. Grosso.

About Morningside Recovery
Morningside Recovery is the leading addiction recovery center with its main offices in Newport Beach, CA. Morningside Recovery is dedicated to providing exceptional care, treatment and services for men and women who are chemically dependent or suffering from mental health or co-occurring disorders. Morningside's staff of qualified, experienced, and caring professionals treats each patient individually, but equally, and receives the same respect through their most difficult times as we would each expect for ourselves. Their wide range of treatment programs, including Family Treatment, Transitional Living, Morningside Academic Institute, and Bring Your Pet allows them to meet an array of needs from their patients and takes into account the patient's culture and values. Given the proper support, Morningside believes every patient can recover and learn how to manage mental and emotional stability. www.Morningsiderecovery.com.

About SurveyMonkey
SurveyMonkey is the provider of web-based survey solutions, trusted by millions of companies, organizations and individuals alike to gather the insights they need to make more informed decisions. SurveyMonkey strives to make tools powerful enough for professional researchers, yet easy enough for a survey novice, packing their solutions with over 10 years of experience in survey methodology and web technology so you can be confident in the quality of the data.

SOURCE Morningside Recovery