The efficacy of a web-based gambling intervention program for high school students: A preliminary randomized study

Early onset in adolescent gambling involvement can be a precipitator of later gambling problems. The aim of the present study was to test the preliminary efficacy of a web-based gambling intervention program for students within a high school-based setting. Students attending a high school in Italy (N?=?168) participated in the present study (58% male - age, M?=?15.01; SD?=?0.60). Twelve classes were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: intervention (N?=?6; 95 students) and control group (N?=?6; 73 students). Both groups received personalized feedback and then the intervention group received online training (interactive activities) for three weeks. At a two-month follow-up, students in the intervention group reported a reduction in gambling problems relative to those in the control group. However, there were no differences in gambling frequency, gambling expenditure, and attitudes toward the profitability of gambling between the two groups. In addition, frequent gamblers (i.e., those that gambled at least once a week at baseline) showed reductions in gambling problems and gambling frequency post-intervention. Frequent gamblers that only received personalized feedback showed significantly less realistic attitudes toward the profitability of gambling post-intervention. The present study is the first controlled study to test the preliminary efficacy of a web-based gambling intervention program for students within a high school-based setting. The results indicate that a brief web-based intervention delivered in the school setting may be a potentially promising strategy for a low-threshold, low-cost, preventive tool for at-risk gambling high school students. The efficacy of a web-based intervention for adolescent gambling was tested.Twelve classes were randomized into either intervention or control groups.The intervention group reported fewer gambling problems than controls.The intervention decreased the amount of gambling among frequent gamblers.Results provide support for a web-based gambling intervention via schools.

[1]  A. Vieno,et al.  Country- and individual-level determinants of probable problematic gambling in adolescence: a multi-level cross-national comparison. , 2014, Addiction.

[2]  Clayton Neighbors,et al.  Normative misperception and the impact of descriptive and injunctive norms on college student gambling. , 2003, Psychology of addictive behaviors : journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors.

[3]  K. Winters,et al.  A prospective study of youth gambling behaviors. , 2002, Psychology of addictive behaviors : journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors.

[4]  J. Menchón,et al.  Is Pathological Gambling Moderated by Age? , 2013, Journal of Gambling Studies.

[5]  M. Potenza,et al.  Introduction to Behavioral Addictions , 2010, The American journal of drug and alcohol abuse.

[6]  M. Griffiths,et al.  Why don't adolescents turn up for gambling treatment (revisited)? , 2004 .

[7]  T. Palfai,et al.  Using personalized feedback to reduce alcohol use among hazardous drinking college students: the moderating effect of alcohol-related negative consequences. , 2011, Addictive behaviors.

[8]  Ken C. Winters,et al.  Toward the development of an adolescent gambling problem severity scale , 1993, Journal of Gambling Studies.

[9]  Serge Sévigny,et al.  Interactive Messages on Video Lottery Terminals and Persistence in Gambling , 2003 .

[10]  D. Ariely.  Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions , 2008 .

[11]  Kenneth J Sher,et al.  The natural history of problem gambling from age 18 to 29. , 2003, Journal of abnormal psychology.

[12]  P. Delfabbro,et al.  The social determinants of youth gambling in South Australian adolescents. , 2003, Journal of adolescence.

[13]  E. Blanchard,et al.  Retaining Pathological Gamblers in Cognitive Behavior Therapy Through Motivational Enhancement , 2006, Behavior modification.

[14]  H. de Vries,et al.  A web-based computer-tailored smoking prevention programme for primary school children: intervention design and study protocol , 2012, BMC Public Health.

[15]  P. Monti,et al.  Motivational enhancement and other brief interventions for adolescent substance abuse: foundations, applications and evaluations. , 2004, Addiction.

[16]  E. Chiauzzi,et al.  My Student Body: A High-Risk Drinking Prevention Web Site for College Students , 2005, Journal of American college health : J of ACH.

[17]  L. Steinberg,et al.  Judgment and Decision Making in Adolescence , 2011 .

[18]  Mark D. Griffiths,et al.  Social Responsibility Tools in Online Gambling: A Survey of Attitudes and Behavior among Internet Gamblers , 2009, Cyberpsychology Behav. Soc. Netw..

[19]  Jeffrey N. Jonkman,et al.  Adolescent gambling: a review of an emerging field of research. , 2010, The Journal of adolescent health : official publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine.

[20]  A. Goodie,et al.  Cognitive distortions as a component and treatment focus of pathological gambling: a review. , 2012, Psychology of addictive behaviors : journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors.

[21]  Keis Ohtsuka,et al.  The prediction of gambling behavior and problem gambling from attitudes and perceived norms , 1999 .

[22]  Avi Parush,et al.  Building it better: Applying human-computer interaction and persuasive system design principles to a monetary limit tool improves responsible gambling , 2014, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[23]  Griffiths.  Why don't adolescent gamblers seek treatment? , 2001 .

[24]  A. Goodie,et al.  Measuring cognitive distortions in pathological gambling: review and meta-analyses. , 2013, Psychology of addictive behaviors : journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors.

[25]  B. Tabachnick,et al.  Using Multivariate Statistics , 1983 .

[26]  A. Blaszczynski,et al.  Impact of Mode of Display and Message Content of Responsible Gambling Signs for Electronic Gaming Machines on Regular Gamblers , 2010, Journal of Gambling Studies.

[27]  M. Griffiths,et al.  Online therapy: Implications for problem gamblers and clinicians1 , 2003 .

[28]  N. Petry,et al.  Prevalence, assessment, and treatment of pathological gambling: a review. , 1999, Psychiatric services.

[29]  Short-term effects of a school-based program on gambling prevention in adolescents. , 2013, The Journal of adolescent health : official publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine.

[30]  Sonali Kumar,et al.  Promote physical activity among college students: Using media richness and interactivity in web design , 2014, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[31]  W. Miller,et al.  Motivational interviewing: preparing people for change. , 2002 .

[32]  Helge Hebestreit,et al.  Effect of school based physical activity programme (KISS) on fitness and adiposity in primary schoolchildren: cluster randomised controlled trial , 2010, BMJ : British Medical Journal.

[33]  Lindsey M. Rodriguez,et al.  Efficacy of personalized normative feedback as a brief intervention for college student gambling: a randomized controlled trial. , 2015, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[34]  R. Williams.  Prevention of Problem Gambling: A Comprehensive Review of the Evidence , 2008 .

[35]  R. Turrisi,et al.  A test of the efficacy of a brief, web-based personalized feedback intervention to reduce drinking among 9th grade students. , 2014, Addictive behaviors.

[36]  Sally M. Gainsbury,et al.  Optimal content for warning messages to enhance consumer decision making and reduce problem gambling , 2015 .

[37]  M. Martens,et al.  The efficacy of a personalized feedback-only intervention for at-risk college gamblers. , 2015, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[38]  John W. Finney,et al.  Brief Interventions for Alcohol Problems , 2004, Alcohol research & health : the journal of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

[39]  Mark D. Griffiths,et al.  Testing normative and self-appraisal feedback in an online slot-machine pop-up in a real-world setting , 2015, Front. Psychol..

[40]  Daniel L. King,et al.  Adolescent simulated gambling via digital and social media: An emerging problem , 2014, Computers in Human Behavior.

[41]  K. Winters,et al.  Monitoring adolescent gambling in Minnesota , 1995, Journal of Gambling Studies.

[42]  F. Chiesi,et al.  Prevention of Problematic Gambling Behavior Among Adolescents: Testing the Efficacy of an Integrative Intervention , 2014, Journal of Gambling Studies.

[43]  F. Chiesi,et al.  Measuring the attitude towards the profitability of gambling: The psychometric properties of the Gambling Attitude Scale. , 2013 .

[44]  P. Delfabbro.  The Stubborn Logic of Regular Gamblers: Obstacles and Dilemmas in Cognitive Gambling Research , 2004, Journal of Gambling Studies.

[45]  Abdullah Abrizah,et al.  What motivates high school teachers to use web-based learning resources for classroom instruction? An exploratory case study in an Iranian smart school , 2015, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[46]  D. Hodgins,et al.  A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Personalized Feedback Intervention for Problem Gamblers , 2012, PloS one.

[47]  Alex Blaszczynski,et al.  A systematic review of Internet-based therapy for the treatment of addictions. , 2011, Clinical psychology review.

[48]  Robert T. Wood,et al.  Stacked Deck: An Effective, School-Based Program for the Prevention of Problem Gambling , 2010, The Journal of Primary Prevention.

[49]  D. Hodgins,et al.  Pilot study of an Internet-based personalized feedback intervention for problem gamblers , 2011 .

[50]  T. Bjarnason,et al.  The 2011 ESPAD report: substance use among students in 36 European countries. , 2012 .

[51]  Michael J. A. Wohl,et al.  Animation-Based Education as a Gambling Prevention Tool: Correcting Erroneous Cognitions and Reducing the Frequency of Exceeding Limits Among Slots Players , 2009, Journal of Gambling Studies.

[52]  V. Lupu,et al.  Gambling Prevention Program Among Children , 2013, Journal of Gambling Studies.

[53]  M. Larimer,et al.  Brief motivational feedback and cognitive behavioral interventions for prevention of disordered gambling: a randomized clinical trial. , 2012, Addiction.

[54]  Mark D Griffiths,et al.  How do impulsivity traits influence problem gambling through gambling motives? The role of perceived gambling risk/benefits. , 2015, Psychology of addictive behaviors : journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors.

[55]  Kate B. Carey,et al.  Computer-based interventions for college drinking: a qualitative review. , 2008, Addictive behaviors.

[56]  S. Galli,et al.  The suitability of the South Oaks Gambling Screen-Revised for Adolescents (SOGS-RA) as a screening tool: IRT-based evidence. , 2013, Psychology of addictive behaviors : journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors.

[57]  A. Vieno,et al.  The efficacy of computerized alcohol intervention tailored to drinking motives among college students: a quasi-experimental pilot study , 2015, The American journal of drug and alcohol abuse.

[58]  M. Griffiths,et al.  Trait urgency and gambling problems in young people by age: the mediating role of decision-making processes. , 2015, Addictive behaviors.

[59]  L. Clark,et al.  Impulsivity and cognitive distortions in pathological gamblers attending the UK National Problem Gambling Clinic: a preliminary report , 2011, Psychological Medicine.

[60]  Sally Monaghan,et al.  Responsible gambling strategies for Internet gambling: The theoretical and empirical base of using pop-up messages to encourage self-awareness , 2009, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[61]  Richard T. A. Wood,et al.  Internet-based interventions for youth dealing with gambling problems. , 2010, International journal of adolescent medicine and health.

[62]  P. Carlbring,et al.  Randomized trial of internet-delivered self-help with telephone support for pathological gamblers. , 2008, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.