Robert Williams

1
A University High School Intervention to
Prevent Problem Gambling

• Robert Williams Dennis Connolly
• University of Lethbridge
• AGRI Annual Convention
• March 27 28, 2003

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Current Educational Initiatives to Prevent
Problem Gambling

• largely been spear-headed by the provincial
  government agencies that provide treatment for
  substance abuse and problem gambling (e.g.,
  AADAC, AFM).
• Most of these agencies have developed ongoing
  awareness campaigns.
• 1-800, 24 hour counselling/information hotlines
• Media promotion of responsible gaming
• Posters/pamphlets in gaming establishments
  letting people know about the signs of problem
  gambling and where to go for help
• Videos on problem gambling
• 1-2 hour presentations to high school classes or
  other interested groups

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Evaluation of the Educational Initiatives

• Good evidence that these initiatives
  increase individual awareness and knowledge
  (although this has been largely untested for
  gambling).
• Good evidence that over time they create
  community awareness, which provides support for
  individual change.
• On their own, awareness campaigns rarely
  have any impact on behaviour. While knowledge is
  a necessary antecedent to changing or preventing
  pathological behaviour, it is rarely sufficient
  on its own.

4
More substantive school-based educational efforts
are required

• Prevention research suggests that these
  programs need to be
• Multi-session
• Interactive and engaging
• skill oriented

5

• A few jurisdictions have recently introduced
  gambling prevention programs into the schools.
• Dont Bet On It in South Australia for ages 6
  to 9.
• Gambling, Minimising Health Risks in Queensland
  for levels 5 6.
• Facing the Odds in Louisiana for grades 5 to 8.
• Wanna Bet in Minnesota for grades 3 to 8.
• Count me Out in Quebec for ages 8-17.
• Gambling A Stacked Deck in Alberta for ages
  13-18.
• However, these programs have different
  orientations, different lengths, and target
  different ages. It is somewhat unclear what the
  optimal program should look like.
• Essential that these programs be evaluated to
  determine what works and what doesnt. Important
  to avoid the mistakes of substance abuse, where
  the most commonly used (and entrenched)
  school-based programs tend to be the less
  effective ones.

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Current university and high school projects in
Alberta
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University Project
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Introduction

• young adults have the highest rates of
  involvement in most risky behaviours
• gambling is no different
• 18-24 has the highest rate of gambling
  participation and problem gambling
• surprisingly high rates in college and university
  students

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Few initiatives targeting young adults

• the few existing prevention efforts have targeted
  adolescents rather than young adults
• this is because gambling begins at a very young
  age and adolescents can be accessed through their
  schools

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• Introductory Statistics is a natural fit for
  teaching critical thinking about gambling
• no research on whether superior knowledge of
  gambling probabilities impacts gambling attitudes
  or behaviour of college and university students

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• two literatures that would support this
• positive impact of educating problem gamblers on
  the nature of randomness, gambling probabilities,
  and errors of thinking (e.g., Ladouceur et al.,
  2000)
• statistically trained college students have
  improved risk assessment and better general
  reasoning skills for everyday problems (e.g.,
  Nisbett et al., 1993)

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Method

• Intervention given in Introduction to
  Probability Statistics in Fall/01 Winter/02
  semesters at University of Lethbridge.
• 5 lectures devoted exclusively to probabilities
  associated with gambling.
• 4 labs provided hands-on demonstrations of
  roulette, craps, etc.
• 1 lecture on cognitive errors/gambling fallacies.
• assigned supplemental text that deals exclusively
  with gambling probabilities.

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Method

• 2 Intro Stats sections taught by Dennis Connolly
  served as Intervention Group (n109)
• 2 Intro Stats sections taught by 2 other math
  instructors served as Math Control Group (n135)
• a History class and Sociology class served as the
  Non-Math Control Group (n85)

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Method

• Baseline questionnaire collected assessed
• demographic information
• knowledge and ability to calculate gambling odds
  
• cognitive errors common in gambling
• attitude toward gambling
• gambling behaviour (time, frequency, , CPGI)
• Questionnaire re-administered 6 months after the
  intervention

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Results - Gambling Math Skill(score range 0 to
9)

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Results - Cognitive Errors(score range 0 to 9)

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Results - Attitudes(score range -6 to 6)
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Results - Gambling Frequency(32-3/month
41/week)
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Results - Gambling Time (42-4 hr/occasion
54-8 hr/occasion)
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Results - lost/won(-1lost 1-20 in past
month)
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Results - Average CPGI(score range 0-27)
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Discussion
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• Variables most strongly associated with baseline
  gambling behaviour
• Positive attitude toward gambling
• Asian
• Male
• Management major
• Variables most strongly associated with decreases
  in gambling behaviour at 6-month follow-up
• Changes in attitude (more negative)

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High School Project
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Method

• Implementation occurred at 2 sites in the Sep
  2001 Jun 2002 school year Calgary rural
  Aboriginal schools
• Each site had a school that received the
  intervention and a school that served as the
  control school
• Calgary involved grade 10 11 students
• Comparisons between intervention and control
  conditions at pre-intervention
  post-intervention and 3-month follow-up

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Program Content Format

• 5 sessions long, each session 100 minutes
• Interactive program with strong emphasis on skill
  learning and application of knowledge
• Program also targeted the social environment of
  students receiving the program
• Lesson 1 Gambling Types Odds
• Lesson 2 Problem Gambling
• Lesson 3 Gambling Fallacies
• Lesson 4 Decision Making Problem Solving
• Lesson 5 Barriers to Good Decision Making
  Problem Solving

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Gambling is part of an inter-related set of high
risk/problem behaviours
Psychological Problems
Problem Gambling
Antisocial Behaviour
Substance Abuse
School/Work Problems
Poor Health Practises
Interpersonal Problems
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Caused by a common set of factors
Biological Environmental
Self-Controlled ? Impulsive Risk aversive ?
Risk seeking Stress resilient ? Stress
vulnerable Strong intellect/skills ? Weak
intellect/skills
Abusive/neglectful ? Nurturing/disciplinedupbri
nging upbringingAntisocial parental
? Prosocial parental Modelling
modellingDeviant peer group ? Prosocial peer
groupPoor schools/ ? Good schools/teachers
teachers

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Results (Calgary)

• 597 students administered the baseline
  questionnaire at both schools
• 469/597 (79) provided parental consent allowing
  questionnaire to be used
• 469/469 (100) response rate at post-intervention
• 347/469 (74) response rate at 3 month follow-up

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Results - Knowledge


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Results Cognitive Errors(lower scores fewer
errors)


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Results Odds Calculation


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Results Attitudes(higher scores more
negative attitudes)


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Results Money Lost

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Results Gambling Time
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Results Gambling Frequency
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Discussion
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• Variables most strongly associated with baseline
  gambling behaviour
• Positive attitude toward gambling
• More gambling fallacies
• Lack of gambling knowledge
• Risk taking
• Impulsivity
• Having won a significant sum gambling
• Variables most strongly associated with decreases
  in gambling behaviour at 3-month follow-up
• Changes in attitude (more negative)
• Changes in knowledge (more knowledge)
• Changes in cognitive errors (fewer)

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Lessons learned from these projects relevant to
prevention initiatives

• Teaching people about gambling odds may be
  analogous to telling smokers about the harmful
  effects of smoking or drinkers about the harmful
  effects of drinking ? perhaps not that important
  in prevention initiatives.
• Developing a more negative attitude toward
  gambling most strongly predicts decreased
  gambling behaviour.
• Improving peoples knowledge about problem
  gambling appears to be important (and perhaps a
  mechanism by which attitudes change).
• Teaching people about the cognitive errors
  underlying gambling fallacies is important.
• Trying to improve generic decision making,
  problem solving, and coping skills is probably
  important.

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The End!