Problem Gambling Messages on College Counseling Center Websites: An Over-Time and Cross-Country Comparison

"Not me!": Optimistic bias and college students' perceived susceptibility, severity, benefits, and self-efficacy in following COVID-19 preventive guidelines

Objective The COVID-19 pandemic has created unprecedented challenges for university administrators and health professionals to keep doors open and students safe. Optimistic bias and the Health Belief Model serve as foundations for understanding students' perceived susceptibility and severity for contracting the virus and their perceived benefits and self-efficacy for following prevention recommendations. Participants: A total of 1,773 undergraduate and graduate students from a large mid-western university participated. Methods: Students were emailed an online survey examining their perceptions and knowledge of COVID-19 and their adherence to recommended preventive measures. Results: Almost one-half of students do not think they will get COVID-19 but said their friends are at risk. The majority are following most Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations and understand the perceived benefits of doing so. Conclusions: Results could aid university officials in developing effective COVID-19 messages that could lead to reductions in cases numbers, deaths, and spread of the virus.

Emerging Gambling Problems and Suggested Interventions: A Systematic Review of Empirical Research

The goal of the present systematic review is to identify emerging gambling problems and the harm minimization strategies proposed to address them. Our interdisciplinary research team conducted this systematic literature review in 5 nations between which there is significant gambling research exchange. A keyword search of the Scopus and Web of Science databases followed by filtering using inclusion criteria identified 1292 empirical gambling studies from peer-reviewed journals. The data obtained from the articles were analyzed using the content analysis technique. We then used a unique approach to identify relationships between harm minimization strategies and gambling problems. The findings reveal that the most frequently reported gambling problems are related to young gamblers, online gambling, electronic gaming machines, and children and adolescents (underage gamblers). Harm minimization strategies to address these included creating educational and awareness programs, further restrictions on gambling advertising, developing an intervention mechanism for online gambling, and remote gambling-related help (i.e., online counseling, online treatment).

Internet-Based Interventions for Problem Gambling: Scoping Review

BACKGROUND

This study seeks to give an overview of academic research on internet-based interventions that are used to address problem gambling. The rate of treatment seeking has been demonstrated to be low across several research environments. This is in part because of the systemic barriers that treatment seekers face to accessing traditional face-to-face treatment. Making treatment resources for problem gambling available through the internet is one way to reduce the impact of those systemic barriers. The use of internet-based resources to address problem gambling has been growing, and a field of research evaluating it has developed as well. However, little has been done to summarize this collection of research.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to provide a scoping review of the use of internet-based interventions for problem gambling treatment and prevention to provide an understanding of the current state of the field.

METHODS

A scoping review was performed for 6 peer-reviewed research databases (Web of Science, PsycINFO, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, MEDLINE, Social Science Abstracts, and Scopus) and 3 gray literature databases (MedEdPortal, Proquest: Dissertations, and OpenGrey). Article inclusion criteria were as follows: published over the 10-year period of 2007 to 2017, including an intervention for problem gambling, and involving the use of internet to deliver that intervention.

RESULTS

A total of 27 articles were found that met the review criteria. Studies were found from several different areas, with particularly strong representation for Australia, New Zealand, and Scandinavia. Cognitive behavioral therapy was the most common form of internet-based intervention. Internet-based interventions were generally shown to be effective in reducing problem gambling scores and gambling behaviors. A wide range of interventions that made use of internet resources included text-based interactions with counselors and peers, automated personalized and normative feedback on gambling behaviors, and interactive cognitive behavioral therapies. A lack of diversity in samples, little comparison with face-to-face interventions, and issues of changes in the treatment dynamic are identified as areas that require further investigation.

CONCLUSIONS

Internet-based interventions are a promising direction for treatment and prevention of problem gambling, particularly in reducing barriers to accessing professional help. The state of the current literature is sparse, and more research is needed for directly comparing internet-based interventions and their traditional counterparts.