A brief self-help toolkit intervention for gambling problems: a randomized multisite trial
Abstract
Two studies conducted in Massachusetts and Nevada evaluated the efficacy of a self-help toolkit for problem gambling. Individuals concerned about gambling-related problems, in response to public notices and newspaper advertisements, volunteered for a randomized trial of the self-help toolkit, Your First Step to Change: Gambling. Participants were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 conditions: (a) a printed toolkit, (b) the toolkit and a brief guide to the toolkit's content, or (c) assignment to a wait-list condition. Participants, 145 in Massachusetts and 170 in Nevada, reported their gambling behavior, beliefs and attitudes about chance, and recent and planned help seeking at baseline, 88% at 1 month later, and 79% at 3 months later. Findings for the complete and intent-to-treat analyses at both sites indicated that participants significantly improved. At the end of the study period, significantly more toolkit recipients than control group participants reported recently abstaining from gambling. Minimally invasive, self-directed resources like this self-help toolkit can assist remediating gambling-related problems among gamblers who do not engage in formal treatment.
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Several self-help interventions have demonstrated their benefits for treating problem gambling and substance use.
“Several self-help interventions have demonstrated their benefits for treating problem gambling (Labrie et al., 2012; Giroux et al., 2015) and substance use (Carroll et al., 2008; Newman et al., 2011).”
From Online and Mobile Interventions for Problem Gambling, Alcohol, and Drugs: A Systematic Review (2017) · cites this paper as Labrie et al., 2012
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- Authors
- LaBrie, R. A., Peller, A. J., LaPlante, D. A., Bernhard, B., Harper, A., Schrier, T., & Shaffer, H. J.
- Affiliations
- Harvard University (US)
- Venue
- American Journal of Orthopsychiatry
- Published
- 2012-04
- Volume
- 82
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 278-289
- ISSN
- 0002-9432 (ISSN-L)
- 1939-0025
- OpenAlex
- W2169936617
- Cited by
- 36
- References
- 45
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 4 · 2016: 2 · 2015: 1 · 2014: 5 · 2012: 1
- FWCI
- 2.54
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- American Journal of Orthopsychiatry (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- State of Nevada
- National Institute on Drug Abuse (RO3 DA019705-01A2)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Gambling Behavior and Treatments
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Keywords
- problem gambling, brief intervention, gambling cessation, help-seeking, gambling behavior
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Female, Gambling, Humans, Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice, Male, Middle Aged, Patient Education as Topic, Psychotherapy, Brief, Single-Blind Method, Patient Satisfaction
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