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Vigna-Taglianti FD, Martorana M, Viola E, Renna M, Vadrucci S, Sciutto A, Andrà C, Mehanović E, Ginechesi M, Vullo C, Ceccano A, Casella P, Faggiano F. Evaluation of Effectiveness of the Unplugged Program on Gambling Behaviours among Adolescents: Study Protocol of the Experimental Controlled Study "GAPUnplugged". JOURNAL OF PREVENTION (2022) 2024; 45:405-429. [PMID: 38416313 DOI: 10.1007/s10935-024-00772-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/31/2024] [Indexed: 02/29/2024]
Abstract
Gambling risk behaviour is an emerging problem among adolescents. "Unplugged" is an effective Social Influence curriculum for preventing substance use among students. This study aims to develop and test a new component focused on gambling added to the Unplugged program. Schools of Piedmont region and Rome city were invited to participate in the study. A self-completed anonymous questionnaire including questions on socio-demographic characteristics, addictive behaviours, beliefs, attitudes and risk perceptions about gambling, normative perceptions, parental practices, school climate, refusal skills, impulsiveness, self-esteem, antisocial behaviours and sensation seeking was prepared for baseline and follow-up surveys. The protocol of the study was submitted and approved by the Novara Ethical Committee and registered in ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT05630157, Protocol ID: 080.742, 11/17/2022). Twenty-nine schools accepted to participate in the study. Sixty-three classes (1325 students) satisfied the eligibility criteria for intervention and were allocated to the intervention arm, and the other 61 (1269 students) were allocated to the control arm. Because of drop-out, absentees, refusals, and invalid questionnaires, data on 1874 students (998 in the intervention and 876 in the control arm), were available for the analysis at baseline. Data management of follow-up questionnaires is in progress. Results of the present study will be useful to clarify the effectiveness of prevention interventions in reducing gambling behaviours among adolescents. Moreover, this will be the first experience of evaluating a new component focused on a different risk behaviour, added to a curriculum previously shown as effective on other risk behaviours.
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Affiliation(s)
- Federica D Vigna-Taglianti
- Department of Translational Medicine, University of Eastern Piedmont, via Solaroli 17, 28100, Novara, Italy.
| | - Marco Martorana
- Epidemiology Unit, ASL Vercelli, Vercelli, Italy
- Department of Sustainable Development and Ecological Transition, University of Eastern Piedmont, Vercelli, Italy
- Department of Statistics, Computer Science, and Applications "Giuseppe Parenti" (DiSIA), University of Florence, Firenze, Italy
| | - Erica Viola
- Department of Sustainable Development and Ecological Transition, University of Eastern Piedmont, Vercelli, Italy
| | - Mariaelisa Renna
- Department of Translational Medicine, University of Eastern Piedmont, via Solaroli 17, 28100, Novara, Italy
| | - Serena Vadrucci
- Department of Prevention, Hygiene and Public Health Unit, ASL Città di Torino, Torino, Italy
| | - Alberto Sciutto
- Department of Sustainable Development and Ecological Transition, University of Eastern Piedmont, Vercelli, Italy
| | - Chiara Andrà
- Department of Sustainable Development and Ecological Transition, University of Eastern Piedmont, Vercelli, Italy
| | - Emina Mehanović
- Department of Translational Medicine, University of Eastern Piedmont, via Solaroli 17, 28100, Novara, Italy
| | - Maria Ginechesi
- Department of Mental Health, Addiction Unit, ASL Roma1, Roma, Italy
| | - Claudia Vullo
- Department of Mental Health, Addiction Unit, ASL Roma1, Roma, Italy
| | - Adalgisa Ceccano
- Department of Mental Health, Addiction Unit, ASL Roma1, Roma, Italy
| | - Pietro Casella
- Department of Mental Health, Addiction Unit, ASL Roma1, Roma, Italy
| | - Fabrizio Faggiano
- Epidemiology Unit, ASL Vercelli, Vercelli, Italy
- Department of Sustainable Development and Ecological Transition, University of Eastern Piedmont, Vercelli, Italy
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Seo W, Kim N, Lee SK, Park SM. Machine learning-based analysis of adolescent gambling factors. J Behav Addict 2020; 9:734-743. [PMID: 33011712 PMCID: PMC8943669 DOI: 10.1556/2006.2020.00063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2020] [Revised: 04/12/2020] [Accepted: 08/26/2020] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS Problem gambling among adolescents has recently attracted attention because of easy access to gambling in online environments and its serious effects on adolescent lives. We proposed a machine learning-based analysis method for predicting the degree of problem gambling. METHODS Of the 17,520 respondents in the 2018 National Survey on Youth Gambling Problems dataset (collected by the Korea Center on Gambling Problems), 5,045 students who had gambled in the past 3 months were included in this study. The Gambling Problem Severity Scale was used to provide the binary label information. After the random forest-based feature selection method, we trained four models: random forest (RF), support vector machine (SVM), extra trees (ETs), and ridge regression. RESULTS The online gambling behavior in the past 3 months, experience of winning money or goods, and gambling of personal relationship were three factors exhibiting the high feature importance. All four models demonstrated an area under the curve (AUC) of >0.7; ET showed the highest AUC (0.755), RF demonstrated the highest accuracy (71.8%), and SVM showed the highest F1 score (0.507) on a testing set. DISCUSSION The results indicate that machine learning models can convey meaningful information to support predictions regarding the degree of problem gambling. CONCLUSION Machine learning models trained using important features showed moderate accuracy in a large-scale Korean adolescent dataset. These findings suggest that the method will help screen adolescents at risk of problem gambling. We believe that expandable machine learning-based approaches will become more powerful as more datasets are collected.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wonju Seo
- Department of Creative IT Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology, 77 Cheongam-ro, Nam-gu, Pohang, 37673, Republic of Korea
| | - Namho Kim
- Department of Creative IT Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology, 77 Cheongam-ro, Nam-gu, Pohang, 37673, Republic of Korea
| | - Sang-Kyu Lee
- Department of Psychology, College of Medicine, Hallym University, 1 Hallymdaehak-gil, Chuncheon, 24252, Republic of Korea,Corresponding author. Tel.: +82 10 7208 7740. E-mail:
| | - Sung-Min Park
- Department of Creative IT Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology, 77 Cheongam-ro, Nam-gu, Pohang, 37673, Republic of Korea,Corresponding author. Tel.: +82 10 7208 7740. E-mail:
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Abstract
This paper describes the pilot evaluation of an Internet-based intervention, designed to teach counselors and problem gamblers about how electronic gambling machines (EGMs) work. This study evaluated the tutorial using assessment tools, such as rating scales and test of knowledge about EGMs and random chance. The study results are based on a number of samples, including problem gambling counselors (n = 25) and problem gamblers (n = 26). The interactive tutorial was positively rated by both clients and counselors. In addition, we found a significant improvement in scores on a content test about EGM games for both clients and counselors. An analysis of the specific items suggests that the effects of the tutorial were mainly on those items that were most directly related to the content of the tutorial and did not always generalize to other items. This tutorial is available for use with clients and for education counselors. The data also suggest that the tutorial is equally effective in group settings and in individual settings. These results are promising and illustrate that the tool can be used to teach counselors and clients about game design. Furthermore, research is needed to evaluate its impact on gambling behavior.
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Oh BC, Ong YJ, Loo JMY. A review of educational-based gambling prevention programs for adolescents. ASIAN JOURNAL OF GAMBLING ISSUES AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2017; 7:4. [PMID: 28680791 PMCID: PMC5488130 DOI: 10.1186/s40405-017-0024-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2017] [Accepted: 05/26/2017] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
Educational-based problem gambling prevention programs are important avenues in targeting at-risk behaviors among adolescents to prevent an escalation of problematic behaviors into adulthood. The aim of this review is to examine features pertinent to effective educational-based programs in the area of adolescent problem gambling prevention in hopes of providing a foundation and future suggestions for preventive efforts. A stronger understanding of this research area will be essential in ensuring that past practical and theoretical advancements are integrated into the development of future programs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Boon Chin Oh
- Graduate School of Education, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010 Australia
| | - Yee Jie Ong
- Psychology Department, Anglia Ruskin University, East Rd, Cambridge, UK
| | - Jasmine M. Y. Loo
- Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Monash University Malaysia, Sunway, Selangor DarulEhsan Malaysia
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Keen B, Blaszczynski A, Anjoul F. Systematic Review of Empirically Evaluated School-Based Gambling Education Programs. J Gambl Stud 2017; 33:301-325. [PMID: 27566689 DOI: 10.1007/s10899-016-9641-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Adolescent problem gambling prevalence rates are reportedly five times higher than in the adult population. Several school-based gambling education programs have been developed in an attempt to reduce problem gambling among adolescents; however few have been empirically evaluated. The aim of this review was to report the outcome of studies empirically evaluating gambling education programs across international jurisdictions. A systematic review following guidelines outlined in the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) Statement searching five academic databases: PubMed, Scopus, Medline, PsycINFO, and ERIC, was conducted. A total of 20 papers and 19 studies were included after screening and exclusion criteria were applied. All studies reported intervention effects on cognitive outcomes such as knowledge, perceptions, and beliefs. Only nine of the studies attempted to measure intervention effects on behavioural outcomes, and only five of those reported significant changes in gambling behaviour. Of these five, methodological inadequacies were commonly found including brief follow-up periods, lack of control comparison in post hoc analyses, and inconsistencies and misclassifications in the measurement of gambling behaviour, including problem gambling. Based on this review, recommendations are offered for the future development and evaluation of school-based gambling education programs relating to both methodological and content design and delivery considerations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brittany Keen
- Responsible Gambling Research Group, Brain and Mind Centre, Sydney University, 94 Mallett St, Camperdown, NSW, 2050, Australia.
| | - Alex Blaszczynski
- Responsible Gambling Research Group, Brain and Mind Centre, Sydney University, 94 Mallett St, Camperdown, NSW, 2050, Australia
| | - Fadi Anjoul
- Responsible Gambling Research Group, Brain and Mind Centre, Sydney University, 94 Mallett St, Camperdown, NSW, 2050, Australia
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Kourgiantakis T, Stark S, Lobo DSS, Tepperman L. Parent problem gambling: A systematic review of prevention programs for children. JOURNAL OF GAMBLING ISSUES 2016. [DOI: 10.4309/jgi.2016.33.2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Parent problem gambling (PG) has pervasive adverse effects on children. These children experience considerable losses such as loss of trust, loss of safety and stability, as well as financial and emotional losses. They are at greater risk for maltreatment and mental health disorders, and they are also at risk for intergenerational transmission of PG. These children are two to four times more likely to develop PG than children of non-PG parents. To date, there has been a dearth of research examining the impact of parent PG on children, and even less research focusing on reducing risks in children of PG parents. The goal of this systematic review was to identify PG prevention programs for children and examine the types of prevention used and whether these programs target specific subgroups. Our search retained 16 studies examining PG prevention programs for children. Results indicated that all of the PG prevention programs in the selected studies are universal and do not target children of PG parents or any other specific subgroups. A large gap is the absence of secondary and tertiary PG prevention programs for children. Another gap is the lack of family focused prevention strategies which the substance use literature has shown to be the most effective form of prevention. Further research is needed on parent PG and ways of reducing risks and increasing protective factors in children and families. A public health framework must be adopted to delay onset, reduce risks and minimize consequences in children of PG parents.
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Donati MA, Primi C, Chiesi F. Prevention of problematic gambling behavior among adolescents: testing the efficacy of an integrative intervention. J Gambl Stud 2015; 30:803-18. [PMID: 23832756 DOI: 10.1007/s10899-013-9398-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
This study aimed at testing the efficacy of an integrative intervention to prevent adolescent problem gambling acting on a multidimensional set of factors including gambling related knowledge and misconceptions, economic perception of gambling, and superstitious thinking. A pre- and post-test design was performed with 181 Italian adolescents (64% boys; Mean age = 15.95) randomly assigned to two groups (Training and No Training). Results revealed that the intervention was effective in improving correct knowledge about gambling and reducing misconceptions, perception of gambling's profitability, and superstitious thinking. Except for misconceptions, these effects were obtained both in participants who were classified as Non-problem and At-Risk/Problem gamblers at the beginning of the intervention. Findings attested also that the training effects were stable over time, and that some changes in gambling behavior were produced. Findings were discussed referring to indications for future research aiming at confirming and extending the present results.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Anna Donati
- Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Drug Research, and Child's Health (NEUROFARBA), Section of Psychology, University of Florence, Via di San Salvi 12, Padiglione 26, 50135, Florence, Italy,
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