CAN GAMBLING EXPERIENCES AFFECT PERCEPTIONS OF GAMBLING TREATMENT AND SUPPORT SERVICES?

Transcription

1 1 CAN GAMBLING EXPERIENCES AFFECT PERCEPTIONS OF GAMBLING TREATMENT AND SUPPORT SERVICES? En Li, Matthew Browne, Matthew Rockloff, Erika Langham, and Phillip Donaldson Experimental Gambling Research Laboratory, Central Queensland University, Australia NAGS, November 2014

2 Imagine that 2 You had a gambling problem and you were watching this ad:

3 Imagine that 3 You had a gambling problem and you were watching this ad: Would you call the number or visit the website to get help?

4 Imagine that 4 You had a gambling problem and you were watching this ad: Would you call the number or visit the website to get help? Can your gambling experiences affect your perceptions of such a service?

5 There Are Many Gambling Treatment and Support Services 5

6 And Much Research on Gambling Treatment and Support Services 6 The literature has been largely focused on: Motivations and barriers for treatments (e.g., Evans and Delfabbro 2005; Gainsbury et al. 2014; Pulford et al. 2009; Rockloff and Schofield 2004; Suurvali et al. 2009; Suurvali et al. 2012); Characteristics of treatment seekers (e.g., Dowling and Smith 2007; Leblond et al. 2003; Najavits 2011; Slutske et al. 2009); Effectiveness of treatments (e.g., Diskin and Hodgins 2009; Dowling et al. 2007; Hodgins et al. 2009; LaBrie et al. 2012; Petry et al. 2008; Petry et al. 2009).

7 Purpose 7 Treatment and support services: have been important means of helping gambling-related problems. Previous research: little has investigated the perceptions of gambling treatment and support services (Gainsbury et al. 2014; Pulford et al. 2009). This study: examines the influence of gambling experiences on such perceptions.

8 Study Participants and Key Instruments 8 An online survey was completed by a sample of 1573 Australian respondents (M = 778, F = 795) in December The response rate for the survey was 41.9%. Participants were asked to complete questions on their awareness and attitudes toward problem gambling treatment and support, their gambling experiences, and their demographic background.

9 Is existing advertising of gambling treatment or support services effective? 9

10 Key Findings 10 Those participants who had recent gambling experiences (i.e., gambled in the last 12 months) were more likely to believe that existing advertising of gambling treatment or support services was effective. Those participants who had never gambled were less likely to believe so.

11 Preferences for different contact methods among different types of players 11

12 Key Findings 12 Experiencing different forms of gambling in the last 12 months predicted the perceived usefulness of different treatment communication methods. EGM rather than other players were more confident with communication of treatment contact details. Casino table game players were more confident with communication of treatment website links.

13 13 Exploring the facets of attitudes towards support services A Factor Analysis (with varimax rotation) was performed on responses to questions on attitudes toward problem gambling treatment and support. Component 1 appeared to reflect the degree to which participants had faith and confidence in problem gambling counsellors. Accordingly, this component was labelled Trust. Component 2 appeared to reflect the degree to which participants believed that seeking treatment or support was normal and legitimate, and this item was labelled Abberance. Component 3 appeared to reflect the degree to which participants viewed support and counselling as efficacious, and was labelled Efficacy.

14 Key Findings 14

15 Key Findings 15

16 Key Findings 16 Participants with higher income had higher levels of trust toward gambling treatment and support services. Gambling experiences reduced perceived efficacy of such services. Male participants with lower income and a PGSI score greater than zero tended to view the use of such services as least aberrant.

17 Implications 17 Policy makers and practitioners should consider tailored communications of gambling treatment and support services corresponding to players with different gambling experiences. Gamblers generally prefer anonymous / asynchronous methods of communication perhaps due to feelings of stigma, shame, or ambiguity in their motivations Gamblers perceive treatment services as less efficacious than the general population. However, optimistically this is not necessarily true of those with gambling problems who also feel getting help is a more acceptable thing to do than the general population.

18 References Diskin, K. M., & Hodgins, D. C. (2009). A randomized controlled trial of a single session motivational intervention for concerned gamblers. Behaviour research and therapy, 47(5), Dowling, N., & Smith, D. (2007). Treatment goal selection for female pathological gambling: A comparison of abstinence and controlled gambling. Journal of gambling studies, 23(3), Dowling, N., Smith, D., & Thomas, T. (2007). A comparison of individual and group cognitive-behavioural treatment for female pathological gambling. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 45(9), Evans, L., & Delfabbro, P. H. (2005). Motivators for change and barriers to help-seeking in Australian problem gamblers. Journal of gambling studies, 21(2), Gainsbury, S., Hing, N., & Suhonen, N. (2014). Professional help-seeking for gambling problems: Awareness, barriers and motivators for treatment. Journal of Gambling Studies, 30(2), Hodgins, D. C., Currie, S. R., Currie, G., & Fick, G. H. (2009). Randomized trial of brief motivational treatments for pathological gamblers: More is not necessarily better. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 77(5), 950. LaBrie, R. A., Peller, A. J., LaPlante, D. A., Bernhard, B., Harper, A., Schrier, T., & Shaffer, H. J. (2012). A Brief Self Help Toolkit Intervention for Gambling Problems: A Randomized Multisite Trial. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 82(2), Leblond, J., Ladouceur, R., & Blaszczynski, A. (2003). Which pathological gamblers will complete treatment?. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 42(2), Najavits, L. M. (2011). Treatments for PTSD and pathological gambling: what do patients want?. Journal of Gambling Studies, 27(2), Petry, N. M., Weinstock, J., Ledgerwood, D. M., & Morasco, B. (2008). A randomized trial of brief interventions for problem and pathological gamblers. Journal of consulting and clinical psychology, 76(2), Petry, N. M., Weinstock, J., Morasco, B. J., & Ledgerwood, D. M. (2009). Brief motivational interventions for college student problem gamblers. Addiction, 104(9), Pulford, J., Bellringer, M., Abbott, M., Clarke, D., Hodgins, D., & Williams, J. (2009). Reasons for seeking help for a gambling problem: The experiences of gamblers who have sought specialist assistance and the perceptions of those who have not. Journal of Gambling Studies, 25(1), Rockloff, M. J., & Schofield, G. (2004). Factor analysis of barriers to treatment for problem gambling. Journal of gambling studies, 20(2), Slutske, W. S., Blaszczynski, A., & Martin, N. G. (2009). Sex differences in the rates of recovery, treatment-seeking, and natural recovery in pathological gambling: results from an Australian community-based twin survey. Twin Research and Human Genetics, 12(05), Suurvali, H., Cordingley, J., Hodgins, D. C., & Cunningham, J. (2009). Barriers to seeking help for gambling problems: A review of the empirical literature. Journal of Gambling Studies, 25(3), Suurvali, H., Hodgins, D. C., Toneatto, T., & Cunningham, J. A. (2012). Motivators for seeking gambling-related treatment among Ontario problem gamblers. Journal of gambling studies, 28(2),

19 Thank you! 19