Abstract

Attribution theories explain the ways in which an individual interprets the occurrences and events in relation to themselves and their surroundings, while addiction treatment requires understanding one’s own illness and the etiological factors that contributed to its development. Recovery capital, as a relatively new construct in gambling disorder research, encompasses two key domains - positive and negative capital. Each of these includes a series of individual, family, financial and social resources for abstinence, i.e. risks of relapse. This study was motivated by the need for understanding the specific recovery factors in the Croatian context, where gambling is highly available and regulations are liberal. Two specific research objectives were defined: (1) How do recovering gambling addicts attribute the development of their addiction?, and (2) which individual and environmental factors directly help (positive recovery capital) and which hinder (negative recovery capital) abstinence maintenance? The study was based on a qualitative approach, while the data were collected from three focus groups that included 16 participants who had completed their treatment and actively participated in their support groups. All of the participants were male, and the age range was from 19 to 49 years (Mage = 31.2 years). The results identified emotional immaturity, low self-esteem and financial illiteracy as the key individual attributions to addiction development, while the environmental attributions involved family dynamics, materialistic social style and widespread availability of gambling. Positive recovery capital was characterized by structured time, family support, safe working environment and treatment programs, while negative capital included unstructured time, debts, risky social contacts and a society that normalizes gambling. As an interesting and specific example of negative recovery capital we could highlight an interest in sports. The obtained results confirmed the importance of an ecosystemic approach to treatment, in addition to a need for encouraging responsible gambling at the national level. The results were used in the control of benefts for relapse prevention programs, as well as strengthening post-treatment support in the recovery process.