2

M A R C H - A P R I L 20 0 6 N o . 6 4
So ciety
TheI mpact
of Macaos Gaming I ndustry
on FamilyL ife
An exploratorystudy
G E R TI N A J . V A N SC H A L K W Y K ,
E M I L I E TR A N , K A Y C H A N G
T
his project is a comp reh en s ivesituation analysis and
needs assessment o f thepsychological well-being of
the people of the Macao Special Ad m in istra tive
Region (SAR). Overall theaim is to gain an in-depth under-
standing of thecontext and needs of thelocal communityin
o rder to appro p ria telyprovidepsychological services and to
d evelop models for effective intervention stra tegies for th e
Macao community
((2)
. Werep o rthereon thefirst phaseof th e
p roj ect and on some of the many enabling and disabling
p rocesses having an impact on thewell-being of thelocal po-
pulatio n. Thepurposeis to describethepresentsituation with
rega rd to fa m ilylifein Macao focusing in particular on th e
impact of thegaming industryon fa m ilyand theres p ective
s u b - s ystems (parents and ch il d ren). As Macao gains its poli-
tical and economicimp o rtancealongsideits booming ga m in g
in d u stry, interest in the studying Macaos infra stru ctu re in
social and psychological supportsystems havebecomeincrea s-
in glyrel evant. Thegaming industry, themajor o f sourceof
emp l oyment and revenue in the ter rito ry, invo lves hidden
fa cto rs comp a red to other industries in the region and
in ev ita b lycaptu res theinterestof res ea rch ers in psych o l o g ica l
and so ciological topics.
Res ea rch into and litera tu reon fa m ilylifeand psych o l o g ica l
aspects of peoplein Macao is ex trem elylimited. Thecurren t
k n owl ed gebasemainlyrelies on studies conducted in Ho ng
K ong, and about Chineseex p a tria tes living outsideMacao.
The maj o rity of res ea rch ers who study the psych o l o g ica l
aspects of Chinesecultureand ethnicitypaylittleor no atten-
tion to theuniqueness of thepsycho-social situation and rel a t-
ed needs in Macao. I n Au g u st 2005, an independent gro u p
of res ea rch ers with government funding conducted a large-
scalestudyon theQualityof L ifein Macao covering severa l
dimensions rel a ted to how thelocal population perceiveand
ex p eriencethesocio-economicstru ctu res of their dailylives
((3 )
.
This stu d y, however, did notconsider psychological aspects of
1. This articleis theoutcomeof research undertaken with a grantfrom theUniversity
of Macau. Theauthors areall connected to theFacultyof Social Sciences and
Humanities w here they teach, r es p ectiv el y, p s ych o l o gy and socio lo gy.
Correspondencecan bedirected to theprincipleinvestigator at: gjvs@umac.mo.
2. Wewish to thank all our keyinformants working respectivelyat Caritas, psychi-
atricnursing recoveryservices, elderlycarecentres, and youth centres for at-risk
children and support of singleparents, as well as theRicci College(a secondary
school in Macao) and leaders in schools and institutions for higher learning for their
willing participation in this firstpartof theproject. Wealso wish to thank theMacao
RicciI nstitutefor having organised a seminar thatwas well attended bymembers
of theMacao publicand press for thefirst presentation of theoutcomes of this
project. To thepublicattending theMRI Forum on December 13
th
2005 and to the
reviewers of China Perspectives weextend a special word of appreciation for their
comments thathelped us improvethis final version of thepaper.
3. Personal communication with Dr K K Tong, a collaborating researcher, September
2005.
Thepurposeof this articleis to presenta comprehensive
situation analysis and an assessmentof theneeds
of thepeopleof Macao in terms of their psychological
well-being. I tdescribes thepresentsituation with regard
to theways in which thegaming industryaffects family
lifeand challenges thepsychological well-being
of theresidents of Macao. Action research and a key
informantapproach werethebasicmethodology
for this study, and semi-structured interviews were
conducted to gain an understanding of theenabling
and disabling processes in familylifethrough theimpact
of thegaming industry. Textual data wereanalysed
qualitativelyfor four dimensions. Four themes
emergedfamilyfunctioning, relationships, child care
and psycho-social issues in thefamily. Although notthe
onlyinfluence, itseems thegaming industrydoes indeed
affectthefamilyunitand thepsychological well-being
of individuals and groups both directlyand indirectly
((1)
.
So ciety
p eo p l e s functioning and well-being. Thelack of psychologi-
cal baselineknowledgeand themental health servicedeliv-
erysystem, onlyin its infancy, arethus an important back-
drop againstwhich thelarger studywas conducted.
TraditionallyMacao has depended, for thedeliveryof social
services, on an informal network of religious organisations,
neighbourhood associations, and various social clans. At
present mental health careservices aremostlyprovided by
social workers and access to psychological services is limited
to visiting professionals from Hong K ong and a few partly
trained psychological assistants (counsellors and paraprofes-
sionals). Recent figures show theMacao government sup-
ports approximately89 social workers for thepopulation of
about 482,000 people
((4)
. Figures for social workers in non-
government organisations and psychologists areno t avail-
able. This is a matter of particular concern and indicates that
Macao is, to an extent, wanting in terms of mental health
careservices. I t also seems that communication and colla-
boration among most of theserviceproviders areneither
well developed nor organised. Adding to thechallengeis the
lack of providers of psychological services, and a common
established practiceof loading mental health work tasks onto
clergystaff, social workers and health careworkers atbest.
Family systems
Thepaper describes thepresent realities of and challenges
to familylifein Macao. Families often function according to
a particular structure, and roleappropriation for thedifferent
m em b ers of the fa m ily system develo ps. The Fa m ily
Systems approach views thefamilyas a social group of indi-
viduals tied together through their common biological,
legal, cultural and emotional history and their implied
future
((5)
. As a complex emotional unit thefamilyis prima-
rilya living, ongoing entitythat is organised as a whole
system with its members in continuous interaction and form-
ing relationship patterns thatextend over timeand space. I n
the family, interconnecting family members affect each
other s thoughts, feelings and actions based upon a circular
causalitythat transpires between peoplewithin a family
((6)
,
as well as between thefamilyand theenvironment. Hence
relationships emerge within the familyand between the
family and social environment that influence individual
development and functioning. As a psycho-social entitythe
familyhas a distinct influenceon each member s develop-
mentand psychological well-being. Thefamilycan in factbe
an obstacleto psychological well-being, particularlywhen
thefamilysystem faces changeto its corevalues or when a
changein thefunctioning of oneperson predictablyelicits
changein thefunctioning of others.
I n Macao at least four familygroups wereidentified repre-
senting different and uniquecultural heritages. Macanese
families reflected a mixed-raceheritagewith Portugueseand
Chinesethedominant cultures, and customs that werepar-
ticular to Macao. Chinesefamilies manifested in two distinct
groups with families who migrated to Macao and havebeen
living therefor at least threegenerations in onegroup, and
newer Chineseindividuals and families who havemigrated
to theenclavesincethehandover to thePRC in 1999 and
areconsidered as first generation authorised residents of
Macao in thesecond group. Themajorityof families in the
latter group camefrom Guangdong, with 4,848 (70%) legal
immigrants from that provincein 2004 alone. Both these
groups still adhered to traditional Chinesecustoms and cul-
tural heritage, with theformer showing moreacculturation,
either with or without strong ties to their families of origin
on themainland. I n thelatter group thegeneral trend was
also for morewomen to leavetheir familyof origin and come
to Macao either with or withouther children to find employ-
ment. An avera ge61.33% of legal immigrants from themain-
land in 2004 were wo m en
((7 )
. The fo u rth group o f fa m i-
lies were mixed: some families were of Po rtuguese back-
ground maintaining strong ties with their countryand culture
of origin, someex p a tria tefamilies from around thewo rl d ,
and a fair communityof families originating from other A sian
co u n tries in theregion (e.g., Philippines, Nepal, etc. ) .
Familysystems in themulti-cultural context of Macao to a
largeextentstill reflected conservativeand traditional values
and customs. Although thenuclear familysystem was evi-
dent, weencountered a mixed cultural heritagethat influ-
enced values and beliefs abo ut what was considered
normal familylife. The data collected for this project
3
N o . 6 4 M A R C H - A P R I L 20 0 6
4. Websiteof Direco dos Servios deE statstica eCensos (DSE C, Statistics and Census
Service), http://www.dsec.gov.mo/e_index.html, lastvisited on December 12
th
2005.
5. Monica McGoldrick, RandyGerson and Sylvia Shellenberger, Genograms: Assessment
and Intervention, New York, W.W. Norton & Company, 1999, p. 7; seealso MurrayBowen,
F amily Therapy in Clinical Practice, New York, J ason Aronson, 1978; I reneGoldenberg
and Herbert Goldenberg, Family Therapy: an Overview, Australia, Brooks/ColeThomson
L earning, 2000; ChristieConnard, TheE cologyof theFamily. A Background Paper for a
Family-Centered Approach to E ducation and Social ServiceDelivery on http://www.
nwrel.org; Gertina van Schalkwyk, Mapping familysystems for ethical decision mak-
ing in I va Smit, Wendell Wallach and GeorgeE . L asker (eds.), Cognitive, Emotive and
Ethical Aspects of Decision Making in Humans and Artificial Intelligence, V ol. I V , Canada,
TheI nternational I nstitutefor Advanced Studies in Systems Research and Cybernetics,
2005.
6. Goldenberg & Goldenberg, op. cit. p. 19.
7. Website of Direco dos Servios de E statstica e Censos (Statistics and Census
Service), http://www.dsec.gov.mo/e_index.html, lastvisiton December 12
th
, 2005.
focused mostlyon thefirst threegroups of families with
Macaneseand Chineseheritage, who constituted thelargest
proportion of the Macao population, with approximately
9.5% of the population 19 years of age and younger.
Although theMacanesefamilies reflected a uniquemix in
their cultural heritage, all thefamilysystems reflected strong
macro-level beliefs about thevalues of familylife, harmo-
nious living and filial piety.
A l tho ugh psychological well-being is not tra d itio n a l lya con-
cept used in Chinesefa m ily systems, fo l k l o reand ancient
Chinesewritings refer to theconcept of happiness associat-
ed with f u or fuqi ( ), which invo lves anything positive
and good in life and rel a ted to longev ity, pro s p erity, health ,
peace, virtueand a comfo rtabledeath
((8 )
. This conceptu a l is a-
tion of happiness rel a tes to what is implied bypsych o l o g ica l
well-being as a comp l ex set of behav io u rs, thoughts, feel in g s
and relationships thatunderlietheoverall physical and socio-
em otional wellness of peoplein a community. Res ea rch into
theconcept of thepurposeand meaning of lifeinvo lves th e
well-being o f individuals and groups in differentco ntexts such
as thewo rkplace, ex p l o rations rega rding thecultural values of
happiness, and morerecen tly, psych o fo rto l o g y
((9 )
. Whereas a
l a ck of meaning in life could be associated with psy-
ch o p a th o l o g y
((10 )
, someauth o rs
((11 )
in d ica tethat purposein
and meaning of lifeconstitu tes critical components of menta l
h ea l th with an emphasis on a senseof directedness and inten-
tio n a l ity. Sources of personal meaning influence coping
stra tegies for stress, whilestrong religious beliefs, group mem-
b ership, values, clear goals and dedication to a causefurth er
in d ica tes theex tent to which thedemands of lifeareseen as
wo rthyof investment and enga gem en t.
I tcan thus beassumed thatpsychological well-being for the
families of Macao will emergein this historical time, multi-
cultural context and with theboom in thegaming industry
when positiveemotions arefostered and encouraged while
thereis a lower level of negativeemotions in viewing ones
overall satisfaction with life. I n order to enhancethepsy-
chological well-being of a community, itis necessaryto focus
on preventiveinterventions that would decreaserisk pro-
cesses that can contributeto thedevelopment of psycholo-
gical problems and pathologies
((12)
. Risk processes arethose
features that reducethebiological, psychological and social
capacities of individuals and environments in order to main-
tain a healthy and well-balanced society. Psychological
services would focus on thepromotion of coping abilities
and thedevelopment of adaptiveand protectiveprocesses
both for individuals and environments so as to increaseor
enhance the capacities for sustained psychological well-
being. Frameworks for mental health careservices should be
developed aimed at pro viding interventions that would
answer to theneeds of thelocal population and that are
accessibleto all members of thecommunity, children, ado-
lescents and adults
((13)
.
4
M A R C H - A P R I L 20 0 6 N o . 6 4
8. L uo L u, Robin Gilmour and Shu-Fang K ao, Cultural values and happiness: An E ast-West
dialogue, in The Journal of Social Psychology, V ol. 141 No. 4, 2001, pp. 477-493.
9. Psychofortologyas a domain is a contradistinction to psychopathologyand studies the
origins, nature, manifestations and enhancementof psychological well-being in thelives
of individuals and communities. Seee.g., Mustafah Ahmed Arafa, Mervat W.A. Nazel,
Nahla K . I brahim and Ashraf Attia, Predictors of psychological well-being of nurses in
Alexandria, E gypt in International Journal of Nursing Practice, V ol. 9, 2003, pp. 313-
320; Paula Brough, A comparativeinvestigation of thepredictors of work-related psy-
chological well-being within police, fire and ambulance workers, in New Zealand
Journal of Psychology, V ol. 34, No. 2, 2005, pp. 127-134; and MarieWissing and Chris
van E eden, E mpirical clarification of thenatureof psychological well-being, in South
African Journal of Psychology, V ol. 32, No. 1, 2002, pp. 32-44.
10. SeeI rvin Yalom in Sheryl Zika and K erryChamberlain, On therelation between mean-
ing in lifeand psychological well-being, in theBritish Journal of Psychology, V ol. 83,
1992, pp. 133-145.
11. SeeCarol Ryff, H appiness is everyth in g , or is it? E xplo rations on themeaning o f psycho-
logical well-being in theJournal of Personality and Social Psychology, V o l . 5 7 , 1 9 8 9 , p p .
564-577; and Carol Ryff and CoreyL .M. K eyes , Thestructureof psychological well-being
r ev is ited , in theJournal of Personality and Social Psychology, V o l . 6 9 , 1 9 9 5 , p p . 7 1 9 - 7 27 .
12. Seee.g., K aren Duffyand Frank Wo n g , Community Psychology, New Yo r k , Allyn and Bacon,
2003 for moreaboutdevelo ping serviceframeworks and theimportanceof primarypre-
vention for empow ering communities to copewith theimpactof external challenges.
13. See, for example, J ames Dalton, MauriceE lias and Abraham Wandersman, Community
P s y c h o l o gy : Linki ng Individuals and Communiti es, C a n a d a , Wa d sworth T h o m s o n
L earning, 2001.
In 2004, gaming tax
accounted for 77.8%
of Macaus fiscal revenue
So ciety
The gaming industry in Macao
Todayfew peopleknow anything aboutMacao other than it
is a gambling haven on thesouth China coast. I n fact, this
has been so onlyfor thepast 150 years and it took timeto
convert theChinesepassion for gambling into thebig busi-
ness that thegaming industryhas become. Up to themid-
nineteenth century, Macao served as a trading post in the
lucrativesea tradePortugal had engaged in with J apan, the
Philippines, China, Malaysia, I ndia and E urope. I t had
never been viewed as a real colonybyPortugal and in a
senseithas onlyever been a territoryadministered in order
to reap maximum profits. Although Macaos fortunes expe-
rienced ups and downsdepending on how open or closed
theChineseand theJ apaneseempires wereto foreign trade
at anyparticular timethetinyPortugueseenclaveenjoyed
a considerabledegreeof prosperity.
I t would bewrong though to assumethat Macao was noth-
ing morethan a commercial entrept. Macao has also been
a cityof commerceand culture
((14)
. I ndeed, it was in
Macao, if anywhere, [that] E ast and West did meet, as
oncejustlyput byCharles Boxer, a renowned historian of
thePortuguesein Asia
((15)
. Theencounter and exchangethat
occurred in Macao havegiven theterritoryits blend of cul-
tural and historical heritage
((16)
, which uniqueness has been
asserted byUNE SCO
((17)
.
TheTreatyof Nanj ing, signed in 1842, not o nlyended
thefirst Opium Wa r, butalso sealed thefa teof M acao by
establishing Ho ng K o n g
((18 )
and opening fiveport cities
( C a n ton, Fuzhou, Xiamen, Ningbo and Shanghai) to fo r-
eign residenceand trade. Sincethen, thenewborn Britis h
co l o nydo minated themaritimetradeand provided a base
fo r businesses that M acao had never dreamt of o r man-
a ged to develop. Having lost its traditio nal commercial
rel evanceand confro n ted with theeconomic and social
declinethat went along with pro mising inhabitants emi-
grating to Hong K o ng and elsewherein search o f better
o p p o rtunities, the administra to rs o f Macao saw th eir
l iveliho ods deeplyth rea tened and th eyhad to find so me
other so urces o f internal revenue. I n o rder to surv ive,
M acao needed to specialise in activities neither Hong
K o ng nor anynearby port city likeCanto n co uld offer,
and in 18 51 M acao sta rted, amongst o ther endeavo u rs ,
the coo lie tra d e
((19 )
. A fter this trade was pro h ib ited in
Hong K ong, M acao becameall themo reinvo lved and it
was mo stlysubsidised byBritish, American and Chinese
ca p ital, until the Po rtuguese Crown, under public pres-
s u re, pro h ib ited it in 1873.
Another strategythus had to beadopted bytheadministra-
tion and monopolies weregranted notonlyto profitableand
innocent commercial activities such as fishing oysters and
sales of foodstuffs likesalt, fish, pork and beef, but also to
moreharmful and lucrativetrades, such as theoneon boiled
opium and gambling
((20)
. The idea of licensed gambling
under thegovernorship of Captain Guimares (1851-1863)
proved a success from thestart, and in 1910, theGovernor,
reporting to Macaos Deputyin thePortugueseParliament,
stated that 70 percent of all incomeof theAdministration
camefrom themonopolies of gambling and opium and only
30 percentfrom other sources of revenue
((21)
.
Therehavealways been someforms of gambling in China,
although it was prohibited
((22)
. Todaymahjong is regularly
played by local residents at family gatherings and with
friends. However, in thecontextof theprohibition under the
imperial regimeand later added to bythesurgeof anti-gam-
bling sentiments of theChineseauthorities in thelatenine-
teenth century, theverymonopolies granted to gambling
legalised gambling in Macao and launched thePortuguese
territoryas a gambling enclave. This was emphasised further
when Hong K ong banned gambling in 1871. Gaming con-
tracts weregranted to onlya handful of figureheads linked to
each other in a complex network of associations, fiercecom-
petition and backstabbing.
5
N o . 6 4 M A R C H - A P R I L 20 0 6
14. Rolf D. Cremer (ed.), Macau: City of Commerce and Culture, Hong K ong, API Press, 1991.
15. Cited in E ricSauted, TheE astDid MeettheWestin Macao, HongKong-Echos, No. 37,
Autumn 2005, pp. 14-16.
16. Christina Miu Bing Cheng, Macau: A Cultural Janus, Hong K ong, Hong K ong University
Press, 1999.
17. UNE SCO added TheHistoricCentreof Macao, covering some20 historical landmarks,
including theold faadeof Saint Paul and thetempleof A-Ma, on J uly15
th
2005 to its
prestigious World HeritageL ist.
18. Fernando Figueiredo, A Conjectura Poltica: Depois DeHong K ong, in A. H. deOliveira
Marques, Histria Dos Portugueses No Extremo Oriente, op. cit. pp. 35-92.
19. Manuel Teixeira, O Comrcio de Escravos em Macao / The So-Called Portuguese Slave
Trade in Macao, Macao, I mprensa Nacional, 1976; and Fernando Figueiredo, op. cit.,
pp. 56-58.
20. As shown byJ on dePina-Cabral, especiallyChapter 4: Paradoxes: Gambling and the
I mperial Civil ServiceE xamination, Between China and Europe: Person, Culture and
Emotion in Macao, L ondon & New York, Continuum, 2002. This chapter is oneof the
most, if notthemost, comprehensivehistorical analysis of thegambling background of
Macao. I ndeed, as pointed out bytheauthor himself, p. 81: Thehistoryof theseacti-
vities has notbeen researched in anysystematicway. Mostof thegovernmental archival
material previous to 1960 relating to gambling contracts seems to havemysteriously
vanished. Therearesomecollections of materials mentioned byPina-Cabral, likethe
green book of theI nspeco dos Contratos deJ ogos published in 1985, and Ana Maria
Amaro, Jogos, Brinquedos e Outras Diverses Populares de Macau, Macao, I mprensa
Nacional, 1992. Seealso: Antonio Pinho, Gambling in Macau, in Rolf D. Cremer (ed.),
op. cit., pp. 247-257.
21. Pina-Cabral, op. cit. p. 81.
22. J acques Gernet, Daily Life in China on the Eve of the Mongol Invasion 1250-1276,
L ondon, GeorgeAllen & Unwin L td, 1962.
TheI mpactof Macaos Gaming I ndustryon FamilyL ife
I n 1934 thegambling policyreached a turning point when
thelocal administration for thefirst timegranted a mono-
polyof all casino-stylegambling to thesyndicateTai Xing
Company, led byGao K ening and Fu L aorong, thus for-
mallyinstitutionalising gambling as an industrywith careful-
lydesigned policies that excluded competition from other
potential bidders. Until the1960s theymanaged to secure
themonopolyfor themselves, and during theTai Xing Co.
era, gambling blossomed in Macao whiletheban imposed
on gambling in therest of China had been verystrictly
enforced bytheChineseCommunistParty, which cameinto
power in 1949. Another turning point camein 1962when
theMacao governor, despitethesuggestion of thehighest
authorities in L isbon, granted thecasino franchiseto the
SociedadedeTurismo eDiverses deMacau (STDM) led
byStanleyHo and Y ip Hon. Thelatter retired from the
partnership in 1975, thus allowing StanleyHo to become
theonlycasino magnatein theterritoryuntil theend of the
franchiseon December 31
st
2001. TheSTDM introduced
Western games such as rouletteand baccaratto thecasinos.
Transportation between Hong K ong and Macao was mo-
dernised byintroducing highlyefficient and fast hovercraft
jetfoils, which had thedirect result of enabling StanleyHo
to consolidatethecasino industryin thePortugueseenclave.
I n August2001 theL egislativeAssemblyof Macao, prepar-
ing for theending of theSTDMs 40-year-old monopoly
over theterritorys gaming industry, passed L aw 16/2001
according to which it officially established the L egal
Fra m ewo rk fo r the Operations of Casino Games of
Fortune and tourism, gaming, conventions and exhibitions,
and theserviceindustrybecametheeconomicdriving force
for Macao. TheSAR governmentopened thesector to two
new players from L as Vegas: theL as Vegas Sands Corp.
and theWynn Resorts. Altogether with SJ M (Sociedadede
J ogos deMacau), an affiliateof theformer monopoly-hold-
er STDM, thethreelicensed operators, joined bya few big
players, such as MGM, K erryPacker and Galaxythrough
joint-ventures, have announced frenzied investments and
giganticcasino and hotel developments and projects thatare
under construction on Macao peninsula and on Cotai, a
strip of reclaimed land between theislands of Taipa and
Coloane. Thearea will featureno t onlycasinos and hotels
(10,000 rooms in total) but also conferencefacilities on a
grand scaleand is expected to employ150,000 staff. The
number of casinos increased from 11 in 2002to 17 in the
third quarter of 2005 and Macao has alreadybecomethe
second largest gaming cityin theworld, behind L as Vegas
in the United States. Thus, as we can see, the gaming
monopoly, designed to keep the colonial administration
afloatin themid-nineteenth century, has byfar exceeded all
ex p ectatio ns. I ndeed, in 2003, the M acao Gaming
I nspection and Coordination Bureau (GI CB, 2003) report-
ed thatgaming tax contributed 74% to theMacao fiscal rev-
enue. I n 2004, thetotal publicrevenueamounted to 19.6
billion patacas of which 15.2billion patacas camefrom the
gambling tax
((23)
, that is to say77.8% of thegovernment fis-
cal revenue: alreadya threepercentagepoint increasecom-
pared with 2003.
I n this context it is apparent that thegaming industryplays
a major rolein thelives and well-being of thelocal popula-
tion. Theeconomicgrowth and wealth thattheindustryhas
brought to thecommunity, has created numerous employ-
ment opportunities and theStatisticand Census Services
(DSE C) report that unemployment has decreased from
6.4% in 2002to 4.1% in thethird quarter of 2005 with
almost58% of thepopulation working in theindustry. Many
young people are lured into working in the industryfor
salaries thatsometimes exceed thatof peer graduates in the
government and privatesectors. Furthermore, theindustry
not onlysupports casinos, but also a varietyof subsidiary
business endeavours. I n this regard, young girls areimported
to work in thesex trade, whilelargetourist groups visit the
territoryon a regular basis mostlyto participatein gambling
butalso to enjoythehistorical sites and heritageof Macao.
I t is estimated that approximately1 million peoplevisit the
territoryeach month, with PRC national holidays allowing
this figureto riseto almost 1.5 million. For last October
indeed, with the National Day week-long holiday, the
Statistics and Census Serviceindicated that thetotal num-
ber of visitor arrivals reached 1,663,623, up 10.2% year-on-
year. V isitors from Mainland China, Hong K ong and
Taiwan, increased 9.8%, 10.9% and 2.9% respectively. I n
the first ten months of 2005, visitor arrivals tota l l ed
15,438,078, up 12.7% for thesameperiod of lastyear. The
majorityof visitors comefrom mainland China (57.9% of
theto tal), Hong K ong (28.2%) and Taiwan (7.8%), and
among themainland visitors, 491,989 (51.1%) travelled to
Macao under the I ndividual V isit Scheme
((24)
. But the
Cotai Strip project with thousands of rooms, marinas,
largeentertainmentvenues, shopping, dining and hugecon-
vention and exhibition facilitiesis intended to draw people
f ro m fa rther away visito rs fro m J apan, Singa p o re,
6
M A R C H - A P R I L 20 0 6 N o . 6 4
23. Website of Direco dos Servios de E statstica e Censos (Statistics and Census
Service), http://www.dsec.gov.mo/e_index.html.
24. Ibid.
So ciety
Thailand, from other places in theAsian region, and from
therestof theworld
((25)
. Given thattheterritorycomprises
only approximately 27 square kilometres, this influx of
tourists to thecasinos and other facilities createa verydefi-
niteover-cro wdedness notonlyon thestreets of Macao, but
in everycorner of this small enclave.
Exploration
Theres ea rch in this first ex p l o ra tivesta geo f thepro j ect
utilised thekeyinfo rmant appro a ch
((26 )
. Theintention wa s
to gain an in- depth understanding of thepresent situation
is Macao in which thegaming industryposes bo th direct
and indirect benefits and ch a l l en ges to thewell-being o f
lo cal residents. Thekeyinfo rmant appro a ch allowed us to
conduct semi-stru ctu red fo cu s - gro up and individual inter-
v iews
((27 )
w ith individuals co nsidered knowl ed geableabout
thecommunity, theresidents and their needs (e.g. , pro-
fessio nals, community leaders, ch u rch leaders, etc. ) .
Becausetheseinfo rmants wo rked directlywith theco m-
munity and reg u l a rly intera cted with the families in
M acao, th ey were considered as having a particu l a r
insightinto thesituatio n in thecommunity. Theinterv iews
werereco rded o n audio tapewith theco nsento f theinter-
v iewees o btained prior to theinterv iew sessio n. Theaudio
reco rdings weretra n s cribed and tra n s l a ted to providetex-
tual data for analys is
((28 )
. Fa m ily pro files in the fo rm o f
th ree- gen eratio n gen o grams wereused to pro videinfo rm a-
tion rega rding thefa m ilystru ctu reand fa m ilyhisto ry, and
theimpact o f this histo ryon present and probablefuture
p a ttern s
((29 )
.
Two assumptions need to beclarified beforecontinuing with
thediscussion. I n theanalysis wefocused on thegaming
industryin terms of theinstitutionalisation and legitimisation
of gambling as an economicgrowth entity. Wedid notatall
look into attitudes, habits and behaviour patterns of indivi-
duals or families directlyinvolved in gambling itself. Much
has been written on gambling behaviour and morewill most
likelyfollow. Werather focused theanalysis on particular
enabling and disabling processes pertaining to psycho-social
relationship and behavioural issues related to theperceived
impact of thegaming industryon individuals and familylife
in Macao.
Seco n d ly, many o f the themes that emerged from th e
a n a lysis o f thetextual data could beco nsidered as uni-
versal pro blems also evident in o ther co untries do minat-
ed byentirelydifferent industries. Wealso do no t nega te
the fact that so me so cial and fa m ily issues co uld have
ex isted in M acao fo r a long timeand co uld po ssiblyno t
beattrib u ted, either in thepast o r no w, to thega m in g
in d u stry per se. Whereas the enabling and disabling
p ro cesses rega rding fa m ilylifehad been no ticeablefo r a
lo ng time, most likelysincethesta rt o f thePo rtu g u es e
a d m in istratio n o f the ter rito ry and, rel a ted to va rio u s
in d u stries, the rapid grow th o f the gaming industry in
recent yea rs has exa cer b a ted theseissues to so meex ten t.
Our fo cal po int was no netheless on describing, fro m a
p s ycholo gical pers p ectivetheperceptio ns and viewpo ints
o f leaders in thecommunityrega rding thepresentways in
w h ich the gaming industry affected fa m ily life and th e
p s ycho lo gical well- being o f thepeo pleo f M acao. There
is for exa mplea tendencyamongst young peo pleto fo r-
feit furth ering their education, both scho o l and tertia ry
educatio n, becauseo f lucra tivejo b o ppo rtunities in casi-
no s, whileparents who wo rk in theindustrytypicallyhave
o ngoing changing wo rk shift schedules that easilydisru pt
their fa m ilylife.
7
N o . 6 4 M A R C H - A P R I L 20 0 6
25. Citing thePresident and Chief Operating Officer of theL as V egas Sands (L V S) inter-
viewed by Paulo Azevedo and J os Ho in We Became More Bullish About the
I nvestment, Macau Business, December 2005, pp. 10-15.
26. Duffy& Wong, op. cit.; Fred M. Cox, J ohn L . E rlich, J ack Rothman and J ohn E . Tropman
(eds.), Tactics and Techniques of Community Practice, I tasca, I llinois, FE Peacock
Publishers, 1984. Norman Denzin and Y vonna L incoln also wroteon different methods
used in qualitativeresearch in their Handbook of Qualitative Research, L ondon, Sage,
1999.
27. Steiner K vale, Interviews: An introduction to qualitative research interviewing. L ondon,
SagePublications, 1996.
28. Wewish to thank our research assistant, Ms J ennifer Wilkinson, for thehours shespent
transcribing and translating theaudio recordings of theinterviews weconducted for this
project.
29. McGoldrick, Gerson & Shellenberger, op. cit.
1. E nabling and disabling processes
of thegaming industry
TheI mpactof Macaos Gaming I ndustryon FamilyL ife
Discussion
Perceptions regarding the impact of the
gaming industry on family functioning
Overall, a traditional Macao approach to lifethat valued
a stable, easy-going lifestyleand taking things as theywere
withoutexerting much efforttowards changewereobserved.
As oneintervieweeindicated, I heard mycolleaguesay
that Macao peoplecan veryeasilybesatisfied with what
theyhave, but I feel that thenewer generation has their
ambition and that ambition maybeto get quick money
[01/01]
((30)
. Such an aim for harmonious living cannot be
faulted in itself and it combines well with thetraditional
Chinesevalues of collectivism and moral qualities of loyalty
and faithfulness. Pastgenerations haveemphasised ren ( ,
humanness) and yi ( , righteousness), good education and
respect for life as central to the moral education of the
young. Through engagementwith thegaming industry, how-
ever, the younger generation have been encouraged to
become involved in hedonistic behaviour patterns and a
drivetowards individualist needs and materialism. I t seems
that theharmonious co-existenceof thepast has mutated
into a dependencyon external forces and a need for wealth
that has overshadowed good education and respect for life
and impacted on thepsycho-social well-being of thelocal
population (L ocal peoplebecomedependent on income
from tourism and gambling and do not develop other indus-
tries. Thegaming industryprovides easymoney; thereis no
motivation to work for their own well-beingenhancetheir
competences and motivation to look beyond soft money
thatcomes easily [05/09]).
Therapid grow th in theeconomyover thepast fiveyea rs and
theincreasein casino licences haveres u l ted in a distinctesca-
latio n in emp l oyment opportunities mostly in the ga m in g
in d u stry, to u rism industry and construction. Many people
wereableto find jobs in Macao either as cro u p iers in thecasi-
nos or in subsidiarysecto rs of theindustryincluding pro fes-
sional services (e.g., bookkeeping), retail and services (e.g.,
cleaning, catering), and construction. As our interv iewees
p o in ted out, theeconomywas ra ther slow in Macao butnow
ithas increased[and] with theopening up of China, wenow
getto u rs coming into Macao, making Macao verystrong in its
eco n o my in creasein peoples dailyliving sta n d a rds [01 / 01 ]
and thecasinos also havea po sitivefacewhereitprovides a
good incomefor thelocals now [02/07]. Recent fig u res
s h owed that almost58% of thelocal population wo rked in th e
gaming industryand thatth erewill bean increasein thecom-
ing yea rs when more casinos open in the ter rito ry. The
in creasein revenuegained from gambling ta xes has madeit
possiblefor theL egislator to continuegranting moresubsidies
to social services and families in gen eral benefiting from th e
boom in thegaming industry. Recen tlyitwas also announced
that education for all ch il d ren would befreeof ch a rgeup to
co mp l etion of secondarysch o o l
((31 )
.
Theavailabilityof work opportunities has in particular boost-
ed migration of peoplefrom themainland to Macao, and
legal immigrants job seekers from mainland China between
theages of 20 and 60 was up from 1,583 in 2002to 4,387
bytheend of 2004
((32)
. L egal immigrants and peopleautho -
rised to permanentlyresidein Macao contributed to a rise
of 7.27% during thesameperiod from 2002to theend of
2004
((33)
. A concern was, however, uttered bytheintervie-
wees in our project. Theavailabilityof work opportunities in
Macao, either in thecasinos or elsewhere, often implied
separation from familymembers when onepartner moved to
theSAR whiletherest of thefamilystill resided on the
mainland. Therearesomecases wherethehusband tries
to ask thegovernmentto havehis wifesentdown to Macao
from themainland, but becausetheycannot wait for the
long period of time, so bythetimethewifegets here, the
husband will alreadyhavea new wife [01/02].
Although separation from thefamilycannot beattributed
onlyto thegaming industry, thedevelopments and available
job opportunities in subsidiaryindustries such as construc-
tion dueto theneed for morehotels and renovations could
beinterpreted as an indirectrolethattheindustryplayed in
disrupting thefamilylifeof thosewho migrated to theterri-
tory. When thefamilythen reunited after a period of sepa-
ration, relationship problems often ensued that madeliving
together again stressful. Theinflux of employableworkers
and preferencegiven to young adults to work in casinos, for
example, havealso resulted in a changein theretirement
age, putting middle-aged adults in danger of struggling to
find suitableemployment in order to providefor their fami-
lies (01/03).
With regard to thefamilyas functional unit, theworking
hours of employees in thegaming industrywas pointed out
bythe interviewees in our project as a major concern.
8
M A R C H - A P R I L 20 0 6 N o . 6 4
30. Throughout thediscussion section wewill refer to thecomments and contributions of
keyinformants who participated in this first part of thestudyin italics. Wedo not use
theinformants names so as to protect their identityand a special codewill indicated
thatthecomments weremadebydifferentparticipants in this exploratorystudy.
31. Macau Post Daily, November 21
st
, 2005.
32. DSE C, 2005.
33. Macau Post Daily, November 21
st
, 2005.
So ciety
Casinos in Macao operate24 hours a dayso working in a
casino often means irregular timeshifts of casinos, dividing
working shifts into earlyand nightshifts. When peoplehave
to go to work theywill haveto leavetheir children athome.
This is a problem which leads to psychological problems
[01/03]. A keyinformant from thesocial serviceproviders
indicated that this was especially the case when both
parents work in thecasino, and thechildren does not get a
chanceto bewith them, and thereforetheyarebringing up
themselves on their own [01/01].
Two issues arerelevant in this regard. Although not unique
to thegaming industry(e.g., nurses, paramedics, and other
serviceproviders also work night shifts), theimpact of irre-
gular working hours and night shifts on theonehand influ-
enced role appropriation and on the other jeopardised
familyrelationships. I n a societywheretraditional maleand
femaleroles werestill dominant and gender stereotypes of
thefather as breadwinner and disciplinarian and themoth-
er as taking careof nurturing needs still strictlyadhered to,
theongoing changing work shift schedules could easilydis-
ruptfamilylife
((34)
. Rolereversal challenged personal and cul-
tural beliefs, whiletheabsenceof a rolein thefamily(e.g.,
father/mother working nightshifts, femalesingleparentfam-
ily) could exacerbaterisk behaviours (parents who haveno
control or poor discipline, mostlylow education and unnatu-
ral working hours (working in factories, casinos, elsewhere),
werethemajor problems encountered in Macao [08/14]).
From a psychological point of view, having and spending
timewith oneanother is oneof thebasicpremises for esta-
blishing attachment relationships between familymembers
and for parents to engagein themoral and cultural educa-
tion of their children.
Perceptions regarding the impact of the
gaming industry on family relationships
P roblematic fa m ily relationships and emotional pro b l em s
wereamong theprominent issues that social wo rkers atten d-
ed to during thefirst six months of 2005 with about 38% of
cases that dealt specifica l ly with one or more disru pted
fa m ilyrelationships. Thefig u res arenotclear as to thenum-
ber of cases directlyrel a ted to thegaming industry, but it is
n otunlikelygiven thattheindustryplays such a major rolein
thematerial and psycho -social functioning of Macao fa m il ies .
D u ring our fiel d wo rk it was mentioned that, particu l a rlywith
rega rd to families whereoneor both parents wo rked in casi-
nos, a lot of their relationships areall messed up and th ey
ca n n ot res o lvethis situation. Thech il d ren of thesepeople
will begrea tlyaffected [and] now th erearealso families who
l o ck their elderlyup at home [01 / 0 2]. A l though theexa ct
reasons fo r locking up an elderlyparentwerenotmentioned,
it was disconcerting to know that theex tended fa m ilywa s
in d irectlyaffected bydisru ptions in thefa m ilyand pro b a b ly
byinvo lvement in gambling rel a ted activities. However, th is
needs further ex p l o ration in thefo l l ow-up to this rep o rt.
Without sufficient time and continuous interaction to
respond to oneanothers needs familyrelationships were
particularlyat risk
((35)
. Theperceived absenceof parents as
primaryeducators and socialisation agents of children, living
in a societydominated bygambling and often experiencing
theover-crowdedness that accompanies an influx of tourists
to theterritory, contributed much to thedisrupting of family
relationships and thepsycho-social developmentof individu-
als. Whereas peopleappreciated theeconomicgains from
theindustry, families tended to avoid social areas wherethey
could spend time together and interact with peers and
friends becausetheseplaces werealso frequented bythe
tourists with whom theydid notwantto connecton a social
level. As thedirector of oneof themajor social service
providers in Macao indicated, local people accept that
tourism is good for theeconomyand open their minds to
other lifestyles, but theeducation level of tourists is low
resulting in an aversion bythelocal population to theinflux
of thesepeopleto theterritory [05/09].
Other relationship problems thatwerementioned during our
fiel d wo rk included fa m ily violence (domestic violence
affects thewomans coreself-esteem [02/05]) and marital
conflict(a lotof extra marital relationships can lead to vio -
lence and affairs arealso thecauseof manyfamilybreak-
ups, having great effect o n the ch il d ren [01 / 0 2] ) .
Although familyviolenceand abuseagainst women could
notper se beattributed to thegaming industry(other factors
mostdefinitelyalso played a role). Therewas thesuggestion
byseveral interviewees that theemotional and relationship
problems usuallyensued from oneor moremembers work-
ing in thegaming and subsidiaryindustries. Familymembers
participating, for example, in thesex industryfor additional
incomecontributed its own set of problems in relationships
and oneintervieweecommented thatshehas found a lotof
femalesnotthemaleswho areactuallythecauses of fam-
ilyproblems having an affair especiallyin thecentral
9
N o . 6 4 M A R C H - A P R I L 20 0 6
34. SeeSing L au (ed.) in Growing up the Chinese Way: Chinese Child and Adolescent
Development, Hong K ong: TheChineseUniversityPress, 1996.
35. Connard, op cit., and Goldenberg and Goldenberg, op cit., expand on theimportanceof
timeand spacefor forming qualityrelationships in thefamily.
areas [01/03]. Mostdistressing to mostof our interviewees
was, however, theprospectiveimpact of disrupted family
life, whether directlyor indirectlyrelated to the gaming
industryor not, on parent-child relationships and child care.
Perceptions regarding the impact of the
gaming industry on child care in the family
Pa rents, particu l a rlythosewo rking in thegaming and rel a ted
in d u stries, often allowed ch il d ren to go unsupervised or
en ga ged social services to carefor their ch il d ren, displacing
the responsibility of child care and paren tal education to
s o u rces o utsidethefa m ily. An info rmant wo rking specifica l ly
w ith ch il d ren in a verypoor area in thenorth of Macao indi-
ca ted thatth eywereoften confro n ted with cases whereboth
thekids parents haveto wo rk thenight-shift and recalled a
casewheretheparents haveasked if thecentrecould look
a fter their child for them wewould need to set up a shelter
for these people their income does not permit them to
emp l oysomeoneto look after thechild. In mostcases 60% of
them comefrom singleparent families [06/10]. Somepar-
ents enga ged theex tended fa m ilyin child care(gra n d p a ren ts
ta kecareof thechild but th eyhaveno real power to discipline
thechild [08/13]), whereas oth ers sent their ch il d ren to th e
mainland to staywith thefa m ilyth erefor ex tended periods of
time, almost losing contactwith thechild entirely.
L ack of parental guidanceor a sound parent-child relation-
ship has been indicated to bea major causeof problematic
child behaviours. Psycho-emotional disturbances among
children often emerged from feelings of rejection, neglect
and lead to a lack of self-esteem and a declinein children s
academicperformance
((36)
. I n Macao thesituation was exac-
erbated byearlyexposureto gambling-related and subsidiary
activities such as prostitution. Our respondentworking main-
lywith single-parent families in thenorth of Macao, when
talking about theinfluenceof thegaming industryon chil-
dren, indicated thattoys such as miniatureslotmachines and
playing cards wereeasilyaccessibleand had as their aim
for thesechildren to becomeaddicted to them. For exam-
ple, therearealso toycards that theycan tradefor money.
Thesetoycards havealso created problems wherechildren
10
M A R C H - A P R I L 20 0 6 N o . 6 4
36. SeeHarryGardiner and Carol K osmitzki, L ives across cultures: cross-cultural human
development, Singapore, Pearson E ducation, 2005, and Barbara and Philip Newman,
Development through life: a psychosocial approach, Singapore, Thomson Wadsworth
Publishers, 2003.
Well paid jobs
attractyoung people
to thegaming industry
So ciety
havecaused fights becausetheytryto steal thesevaluable
cards [06/10]. Onedirectand veryworrying consequence
of thegaming industryis juveniledelinquencythathas been
graduallyincreasing as L o Shiu Hing pointed outin his arti-
cleon gambling and organised crime
((37)
.
A Macao-based ga n g ster, cited byL o Shiu Hing, estim a ted
that up to 80% of theyo u th in Macao havecontract or con-
nections with triads becauseth eyarefo rced to accept tria d
p rotection. For L o, that was dueto therapid increasein
M a ca o s population sincenewlyarrived parents had to con-
cen tra tetheir timeand energyin providing for their fa m il ies
and th erefo re negl ected the ch il d ren
((3 8 )
. In the first nine
m o n ths of 2005, 114 criminal cases invo lving 218 adolescents
werehandled in Macao
((3 9 )
and theSta tistics and Census
Services estim a ted that th erewas a 7. 6% increaseto 25.3%
co mp a red to theprevious yea r
((4 0 )
. I n a blueprintstudybyth e
Social Wel fa reI nstitu te, it was also indicated that 30% of
adolescents in M acao have at one time or another been
en ga ged in stealing, fighting or damaging publicpro p erty
((41 )
.
D u ring our fiel d wo rk, weweretold bya school director th a t
hehad to deal with a triad issuewithin theverypremises of
theschool just prior to his interview with us. Minors were
also frequentamong courtcases handled bythelegal system ,
and adolescents and ch il d ren areseen in court becauseof
s h o p l ifting, stealing (fo rced entryin residential areas), fig h t-
ing in publicplaces fa m ilybackground and friends areth e
causefor manyproblems among adolescents (08/13 ) .
Anti-social and gang-related behaviours arenot uncommon
among adolescents who arein theprocess of identityfor-
mation, particularlywhen theyhaveto deal with problema-
ticparent-child relationships, do notreceiveadequatemoral
education from their parents (theschool has to takeover
basiceducation from thefamilytheschool becomes a sub-
stitutefor thefamily [03/07]), and arefaced with negative
labelling in society
((42)
. Although delinquentand gang behav-
iour of adolescents could again notbeseen as a meredirect
consequenceof theboom in thegaming industryand parent
absencebecauseof employment in theindustry, it seemed
that young peopleweremoreat risk for engaging in unac-
ceptablebehaviours and that thegaming industryhas to an
extentaggravated thesituation in recentyears.
Perceptions of the impact of the gaming
industry on psycho-social issues
in the family
Thegroups mostlyta rgeted for jobs in thegaming industry
were the adolescents and young adults, people who have
rea ched theageof 18 yea rs and who could lega l lyenga gein
economic activity. As oneinterv ieweementioned, casinos
h avebeen ableto attracta lotof teen a gers to wo rk for th em
[ 01/02]. However, manyof theseyo ung peoplefo rfeited fur-
ther education and wereattra cted bylucra tivesalaries ta ken
outof school to go wo rk in casinos whereth eycan earn up to
10,000 patacas per month s o m etimes higher than a gra d u a te
can earn [08/13]. E stim a tes of exa ctlyhow many yo u n g
peoplerej ected further education in favour of so-called easy
m o n ey and financial independencethatfl owed fro m wo rk in g
in thegaming industrywerenot availableand weco nsidered
this as particu l a rlyan area for further investigation. Wherea s
the emp l oyment o pportunities the industry offers were
enabling in a major senseand young peo plecould, as requ ired
bythetradition of filial piety, now better ta kecareof th eir
p a rents, disabling processes werealso at wo rk.
Theeasilyaccessibleand lucrativeemployment availablein
casinos and thelack of motivation to pursueeducational
goals putyoung peopleatrisk. Theyemphasisean immedi-
ate and short-term success and offer a gratification that
together impedeon a senseof directedness and purposein
lifeand theoverall psychological well-being of peoplein
Macao. Vocational interest is a product of positivefamily
relationships, but theenvironment also plays a rolein guid-
ing young peopletowards a positivelifeorientation
((43)
. One
of our keyinformants in particular pointed out that lack of
m otivation for school ach ievement leads to dro p - o u ts
[03/07], and it seemed that the wealth and prosperity
brought about bythe lure factor of easymoney and
recruiting ch il d ren away from the education system
[03/07] affected familylifein particular and had a great
impact on people s wayof thinking and their mental devel-
opment [01/02]. Furthermore, theprospects of employ-
ment in theindustrydid not bring wealth and prosperityto
11
N o . 6 4 M A R C H - A P R I L 20 0 6
37. L o Shiu Hing, Towards theE nd of theStanleyHo Connection? China Perspectives,
Macau Special, op. cit. pp. 56-65.
38. Ibid., p. 59.
39. A s repo rted in M acau Daily, h ttp : / / w w w. m a ca u . ctm . n et/ m o d a il yl o g / 20 0 5 1 1 1 0 /
index.htm.
40. DSE C, 2005.
41. Youth Problems and Youth Services in Macau SAR: A blueprint for the new millennium,
published bytheSocial WelfareI nstitute, 2005, and Wu Zhiliang, A juventude e o futuro
de Macau, Qingnian yu Aomen weilai, The Youth and the F uture of Macau, Fundao
Macau, 1994.
42. Gardiner and K osmitzki, op. cit.; Barbara and Philip Newman, op. cit.
43. SeeRyff, op. cit.; L ea Pulkkinen and Anna Ronka, Personal control over development,
identityformation, and futureorientation, in Developmental Psychology, V ol. 30, 1994,
pp. 260-271; and Oi-L ing Siu, Occupational stressors and well-being among Chinese
E mployees in Applied Psychology, V ol. 51(4), 2002, pp. 527-544
TheI mpactof Macaos Gaming I ndustryon FamilyL ife
all thepeopleof Macao. Manylocal families, who had been
in Macao for several generations, weresuffering from an
increasein povertywith real estateprices escalating rapidly,
and thehigh priceof consumables. I t seemed that there
wereincreasing numbers of families thatcould notmaintain
a good standard of living. This trend was emphasised bythe
Social WelfareDepartment reporting that 7,732families
applied for and received financial aid in thefirst half of
2005. Physical needs areamong themost basicneeds for
psychological well-being becausewithoutsufficientgratifica-
tion of physical and securityneeds, theindividual could have
difficultyfocusing his or her psychological energyon belong-
ingness and realisation of potentialities
((44)
. I t seemed there-
forethatthegaming and related industries havetheir advan-
tages and drawbacks. Macao families benefit perhaps from
the job opportunities and increased salaries the industry
offers, but at thesametimetheyexperienceproblematic
family relationships and their overall psychological well-
being is thus putatstake. Thosewho arenotworking for the
gaming and related industries experiencefinancial hardship
dueto theincreaseof thecostof living sincetheboom three
years ago, and this new lacking of resources brings upon
them new psychological stresses.
Thegaming industrydoes indeed havean impact on family
life. On theonehand, theindustryhas boosted economic
growth in theenclaveand material prosperityfor thelocal
residents. On theother, however, it also engenders several
disabling and disruptive processes that have particularly
affected thepsychological well-being of individuals and fam-
ilies in Macao.
Reflecting on Macao within theperspectiveof thebroader
China, itwas also odd to seehow theone-country-two sys-
tems model worked in this specificcase. Macao had been
developing thegaming industrywith theblessing notonlyof
theSAR government but also of thehighest authorities in
Beijing, whilethoseverysameauthorities havebeen cam-
paigning since 2004 to crack down on gambling
((45)
. I n
J anuary2005, President Hu J intao reiterated theneed for
Chinas youth to beequallyideologicallyand ethicallyedu-
cated
((46)
. Well, it seemed that under theonecountry, two
systems theyouth of Macao did not enjoythesametreat-
mentas theyouth in themainland
((47)
.
Maybethemost significant gap in our search for under-
standing was thelack of meaningful baselineresearch and in
particular thelack of publicdata pertaining to, for example,
shiftwork, theaverageageof employees in casinos, relations
between wages and age, and information about subsidiary
trades such as prostitution, drug peddling and triads. Wehad
to relyon theperceptions of our keyinformants and a few
public data bases (e.g., DSE C). Therefore, this initial
exploration could byno means beconsidered comprehensive
or adequatelyrevealing of theextent and complexityof fac-
tors influencing the psychological well-being of the local
communityin Macao.
P s ychological interventions and mental health careareno t
common practices in Chinesecommunities, and much stil l
needs to bedoneto develop an understanding and apprecia-
tio n among thepeopleof M acao for such services. Thenex t
step o f this res ea rch project will beto investiga tethepercep-
tio ns and attitudes of thelocal residents at gra s s ro ots level ,
thepeopleactuallywo rking in thegaming and rel a ted indus-
tries, and identifytheir particular needs wherepsych o l o g ica l
s ervices areconcerned. It would behelpful to includeoth er
p a rticipants from theva rious secto rs, also thegovern m en t
and thegaming industry, in further investigations into theway
in which psychologycan beimp l em en ted in this societyto
enhancethepsychological well-being of thepeople. Weho pe
to ex p l o re, for exa mple, the identity ch a n ges that have
o ccu r red among individuals and thecommunityas a whole
since the recent boom in the gaming industry and the
h a n d over of Macao to thePRC. Fu rth erm o re, wehopeto
d evelop, th rough ongoing res ea rch and activity, thenecessary
f ra m ewo rks fo r providing psychological interventions th a t
could emp ower thepeo pleof Macao and providethem with
coping stra tegies to deal with theinfluences of thega m in g
in d u stryon their individual and collectivelives. Comp a ra tive
studies and looking at other developing countries dominated
bya singleindustrywould also berel evant. Thegovern m en t
has latelyputsomeproj ects in placeto encoura getheimp l e-
m en tation of psychological services, but further res ea rch will
p rovide insights into establishing thenecessary fra m ewo rk
and infra stru ctu rethat can address thefelt and anticipated
needs in thecommunityfor such services.
12
M A R C H - A P R I L 20 0 6 N o . 6 4
44. Seefor example, Maslows hierarchyof needs and thepotential impact of unsatisfied
d ef icien cy needs in George Bo erees summary o f Abraham Maslow,
http://www.ship.edu/~cgboree/maslow.html.
45. China launches nationwidecampaign against gambling, Peoples Daily Online, last
u p d ated o n J anuary 12
th
20 0 5 , h ttp : / / en g l is h . p eo p l e. co m . cn / 20 0 5 0 1 / 1 2/ en g
20050112_170335.html.
46. Chinesepresidenturges ethical, ideological education for youth, Peoples Daily Online,
last updated o n J anuary 19
th
20 0 5 , h ttp : / / en g l is h . p eo p l e. co m . cn / 20 0 5 0 1 / 1 8 /
eng20050118_171045.html.
47. For further developmenton politics and ethics, seeE milieTran, E litePolitics and E thics
in China: R esolving Non-A ntagonistic Co ntradictions?, Chinese Cross Currents,
Success and V alues, Vol. 2, No. 2, A pril-J une2005, pp. 50-69.