Submission Title
Interventions for Problem and Pathological Gambling: Status, Innovations, and Challenges
Session Title
Session 1-2-A: Identifying and Assisting Problem Gamblers
Presentation Type
Event
Location
Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada
Start Date
28-5-2019 11:00 AM
End Date
28-5-2019 12:25 PM
Disciplines
Clinical Psychology | Health Psychology | Substance Abuse and Addiction
Abstract
The purpose of this presentation is to address research on the effectiveness of problem gambling interventions and offer insights for new directions. Dr. Martens has led two clinical trials over the past five years that have integrated technology into problem gambling interventions for young adults. In the first trial (Martens et al., 2015), he found that a computerized personalized feedback intervention reduced gambling problems among at-risk young adult gamblers. In the second trial (Martens et al., in preparation), he found that an intervention delivered via cell phone and text-message had an indirect effect on gambling-related problems. Although effect sizes for these interventions were in the small to medium range, both interventions were relatively inexpensive and easy to implement. He will discuss these findings, how they fit into the context of prior brief intervention efforts in the field (e.g., Cunningham et al., 2009; Hodgins et al., 2009; Petry et al., 2008), how they may be able to scale up and be disseminated widely, and how they inform potential future directions for reducing problem gambling among young adults and other vulnerable populations. He will also address some of the unique challenges associated with integrating technology into brief intervention efforts.
Keywords
Problem Gambling, Brief Interventions, College Students, Motivational Interviewing
Funding Sources
I received two research grants from the National Center for Responsible Gaming
Competing Interests
None.
Included in
Clinical Psychology Commons, Health Psychology Commons, Substance Abuse and Addiction Commons
Interventions for Problem and Pathological Gambling: Status, Innovations, and Challenges
Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada
The purpose of this presentation is to address research on the effectiveness of problem gambling interventions and offer insights for new directions. Dr. Martens has led two clinical trials over the past five years that have integrated technology into problem gambling interventions for young adults. In the first trial (Martens et al., 2015), he found that a computerized personalized feedback intervention reduced gambling problems among at-risk young adult gamblers. In the second trial (Martens et al., in preparation), he found that an intervention delivered via cell phone and text-message had an indirect effect on gambling-related problems. Although effect sizes for these interventions were in the small to medium range, both interventions were relatively inexpensive and easy to implement. He will discuss these findings, how they fit into the context of prior brief intervention efforts in the field (e.g., Cunningham et al., 2009; Hodgins et al., 2009; Petry et al., 2008), how they may be able to scale up and be disseminated widely, and how they inform potential future directions for reducing problem gambling among young adults and other vulnerable populations. He will also address some of the unique challenges associated with integrating technology into brief intervention efforts.