Lounge Atheists vs. Theists: Any thoughts on why this disparity with addiction might exist?

Since we now find ourselves in an open discussion. Here's a topic:

I was writing an article on military and religious indoctrination and stumbled across a weird factoid.

Atheists are 1/5th as likely to develop gambling addiction, and 50% more likely to develop substance abuse than theists.

In the event that either group seeks counseling for either gambling or substance abuse, the theists have significantly higher recidivism rates.

However, less atheists get counseling or try to quit in the first place. If they do, they are more likely to quit and stay quit.

Any thoughts on why this disparity might exist? There are no wrong answers, and I do not have an explanation myself.

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Feel free to ignore this post, just a stray thought...

 

I’m an atheist and don’t have an addiction to anything.

 

Interesting indeed.

Atheists most probably aside from not believing in a god, do not "believe" in anything mystical, like luck.

 

I think theists are more susceptible to group-think or head-think and might seek treatment whether they want treatment or not because of advice they get from their herd. Atheists like myself tend to be loners I have no group or herd to consult with so when I do seek treatment it's because I and I alone wanted it therefore it's probably going to last longer. I suspect many theists relapse because they never wanted treatment to start with. The pressure from your group to get treatment can be overwhelming and atheists are under no such pressure.

 

I have no religion but I believe in God.
I love gambling but not to the point where it affects my daily activities.
I prefer to have privacy and be left alone in peace than to be in company of the masses. My interactions with them are generally unpleasant.

 

Hit me up, I have an idea

 

I believe in God and am a Christian.
Gambling for fun is all right, but not if you are addicted.
Christians are not allowed to worship anything other than God!