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Published on: August 25, 2023
Effects of personalized and normative feedback via the Positive Play Quiz on responsible gambling intention,
Nassim Tabri1,2, Richard T A Wood3, Michael J A Wohl1,2
1Department of Psychology, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Aims:
To evaluate whether a personalized and normative feedback (PNF) intervention for responsible gambling increases gambling insight as well as intention and self-efficacy to engage in responsible gambling and behavioral engagement.
Design:
Two-arm randomized controlled trial. Outcome measurements occurred post-randomization and 3 months later.
Setting:
Online, Canada.
Participants:
Canadian community members who gambled at a land-based casino or online in the last 3 months [61.9% men; mean age = 56.52 (standard deviation = 14.80)] recruited via an online panel (n = 4091).
Intervention And Comparator:
Participants were randomized to receive PNF (n = 1940) or no feedback (n = 2151).
Measurements:
Primary outcomes included gambling insight, intentions and self-efficacy to engage in seven responsible gambling behaviors post-randomization as well as engagement in these behaviors during the 3-month follow-up.
Findings:
Post-intervention, participants receiving PNF (relative to no feedback) had greater gambling insight (d = 0.32, P = 4.59e-25) as well as greater intentions and self-efficacy to learn about how the games they play work (dintention = 0.31, P = 4.92e-24; dself-efficacy = 0.25, P = 4.35e-16), learn about the odds of winning at these games (dintention = 0.30, P = 1.43e-21; dself-efficacy = 0.25, P = 2.13e-15) and use operator-provided tools to help limit their gambling (dintention = 0.20, P = 1.36e-10; dself-efficacy = 0.18, P = 3.92e-9). However, post-intervention differences in intention and self-efficacy to limit time and money spent gambling, openness about gambling with others and balancing gambling with other activities were not observed. Meaningful increases in behavioral engagement 3 months later were observed but were not significant.
Conclusions:
PNF for responsible gambling (relative to no feedback) appears to increase gambling insight, intentions and self-efficacy to engage in gambling literacy and use of limit-setting tools. Exploratory analyses indicated receiving PNF (relative to no feedback) led to behavioral changes during the 3-month follow-up period.
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