"The Childhood Experience in the Shadow of the Addiction": The Childhood Experience of Men who Grow Up with a Father Addicted to Gambling and the Way they Perceive its Implications

While empirical studies have examined the effects of parental gambling on young children, only little is known about how adults retrospectively perceive growing up with a parent addicted to gambling, particularly from their own subjective lens. The primary aim of this qualitative-phenomenological study was to explore the childhood experiences of adult men raised by a father with a gambling addiction, and to understand how these experiences shaped their emotional development, identity, relationships, and parenting roles.

Participants were nine adult men (aged 18 and above) who were interviewed using semi-structured, in-depth interviews. The data analyzed using both holistic and thematic approaches. The findings revealed common themes of emotional absence, secrecy, and shifting family roles, often accompanied by feelings of shame, guilt, and emotional isolation. The participants described their childhoods as filled by confusion, silence, and premature emotional responsibility, alongside the emergence of defensive patterns such as emotional suppression, self control and hyper vigilance as coping strategies. Despite these difficulties, some also reported personal growth, emotional awareness, and resilience that emerged through adversity, reflecting a conscious effort to redefine themselves and break intergenerational cycles of dysfunction.

This study contributes to the understanding of the long-term psychological impact of parental gambling addiction and highlights the need for systemic and integrative therapeutic interventions, including support for both children and addicted parents. By emphasizing the voices of adult sons, the research offers a clinical and theoretical lens on how unresolved childhood experiences may shape adulthood, identity and parenting. The findings provide valuable insights for clinicians, educators, and policymakers concerned with the intergenerational consequences of addiction