ABSTRACT
Symposium summary: It becomes more and more obvious that a gendered approach to research, prevention and treatment is highly relevant to gain a better understanding of and be more responsive to female-specific aspects of behavioural addiction. Literature and studies on Women and Gambling Disorder and other Behavioural Addiction are scarce, both in Europe and all over the world. Moreover, the existing data are not specific to women but inferred from mostly male samples. Nevertheless, more and more women are affected by pathological gambling and other non-substance related addictions. Obviously, women have a crucial role in family and society, and their gambling or other addictive behaviours, which are often underestimated, may have a deep impact on their social and personal life. One key issue is that women often experience great difficulty in finding appropriate treatment services. Most health clinics are not female friendly, and treatment programs very rarely offer female-specific treatment approaches. In 2020 a pandemic struck all over the world. It deeply affected our lives and existence, our physical and mental health, in many ways. B.A. played an important role in women's life during the various COVID-19 lockdowns. Women paid high costs in this period and taking care of their health is now even more important. It's crucial to learn from your experiences as researchers and clinicians and to gather data from all over the world to enrich our shared understanding of these issues, to compare, discuss and improve research and treatment for the women on whose behalf we are working on.