There is a well-known adage that "farming is always a gamble." Indeed, many of the factors that affect farming's profitability involve elements of chance, like weather and market prices.
This article follows last week's column about how gambling by a Texas farmer led to unhappy family relationships and financial losses; he even died in a casino. Today we take a look at whether gambling is a behavior problem for Americans in general and farmers in particular.
A study which I directed of 43,852 callers to farm crisis telephone helplines and hotlines in seven upper Midwestern states from September 1, 2005, to October 31, 2007, indicated that concerns about gambling accounted for .6 percent of callers to these services. Only .1 percent of 7,238 people who participated in professional counseling were diagnosed as exhibiting pathological gambling.
In last week's article, the Texas farm woman whose husband was addicted to gambling noted that most studies indicate 4 to 6 percent of Americans gamble in some fashion (e.g., play the lottery, place bets, purchase scratch tickets, play bingo for money, etc.). That figure is too low, she says. She is probably right.
Men are more likely to pursue high risk situations that entail excitement, such as high stakes poker and roulette, whereas women prefer bingo and playing slot machines. Although more males participate in Gamblers Anonymous meetings than females, experts say that more hidden gambling is undertaken by females and often is underreported.
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Why are people enticed by gambling? Psychological research has established that irregular patterns of reinforcement, called intermittent or variable rate reinforcement, are more exciting than predictable outcomes, especially if the possible gain is great. Owners and managers of casinos and gambling activities of all sorts are well aware how the human brain operates to gauge behaviors that may lead to rewards.
Most professional gaming facilities keep track of individual gamblers, especially those who win frequently. The operators of the games may manipulate their chances of winning to insure their businesses make a profit. They also know that gradually extending the length of time and the number of attempts between rewards are highly enduring and addictive behaviors.
Are people engaged in agricultural occupations especially prone to gambling? The number of calls to the farm crisis hotlines and helplines suggests "probably not," but it is quite clear that farmers are more likely than average to be risk-takers.
Research in Scotland by Joyce Willock and her colleagues at the University of Edinburgh in the late 1990s found that risk-taking was a behavior associated with success in farming. Taking risks by farmers, such as experimenting with a new crop or purchasing a parcel of farmland, has been associated with both financial gains and losses.
Many of our ancestors took risks in coming to America, hoping to purchase land to become its owners and agriculture producers. Downsides of farmers' risk-taking are some of the highest rates of occupationally-related injuries, fatalities and suicide, as well as the inherent, mostly unpredictable dangers of machines, animals and markets that are fallible. Yet farmers persist, sometimes unadvisedly.
Where can farmers obtain help with gambling when necessary? Gamblers Anonymous offers 20 self-evaluation questions and information online about the nearest chapters. People can also contact the International Service Office of Gamblers Anonymous on their website, www.gamblersanonymous.org , which maintains a list of resources for assistance in all states, or by calling The National Gambling Helpline at 1-800-522-4700.
Mike Rosmann is a Harlan, Iowa, psychologist and farmer. To contact Rosmann go online to: www.agbehavioralhealth.com .
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