A gambling primary prevention program for students through teacher training: an evidence-based study

ABSTRACT

Given the high prevalence of gambling among adolescents, the main purpose of the present study was to develop a gambling primary intervention program for students through the training of teachers about gambling-related knowledge and problems, and verify the effectiveness of the program in reducing gambling behaviors, cognitive distortions, and perception of gambling economic profitability in students. A total of 33 teachers (31.3% men) and 393 students aged 13 to 19 years (84% boys) were recruited for this study, randomly assigned to training (15 teachers; 219 students) and non-training groups (18 teachers; 174 students). An evidence-based longitudinal study designed with a pretest, and a follow-up after about 7 months, was conducted. Results showed that trained teachers improved their knowledge on gambling types and characteristics and related risks. The most relevant result was the impact the trained teachers had on their students, who reduced their gambling behavior, some cognitive distortions, and misconceptions related to the economic profitability of gambling. However, despite the relevance of these results, this study represents preliminary evidence, and further controlled studies are needed to confirm the possibility of using trained teachers as a less expensive method to efficiently prevent gambling among adolescents.

KEYWORDS:

• Student gambling
• primary prevention program
• evidence-based study
• teachers
• cognitive distortions
• gambling profitability

Acknowledgements

The authors thank all teachers and students who participated in the study.

Data availability statement

The dataset analyzed during the current study is available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Constraints on publishing

No governmental or institutional constraints affected the authors’ freedom to publish the work.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

HREC institution: University of Florence, Protocol number: n. 81120/2018

Additional information

Funding

The research was partially funded by the Cassa di Risparmio di Pistoia e Pescia Fondation (n. 2016.0169/GI), and the Banca d’Italia (n. 26136/2018).

Notes on contributors

Franca Tani

Franca Tani is a psychologist and psychoanalyst. She is a Full Professor of Developmental Psychology and Dean of the School of Psychology of the University of Florence. Her research interests concern the study of the new forms of social psychopathology, with particular reference to risk and protection factors in the inter-generational transmission.

Lucia Ponti

Lucia Ponti is psychologist and psychotherapist, research fellow of the School of Psychology and contract professor of Developmental Psychology at the University of Florence. Her main research interests concern the study of the new forms of social psychopathology and addictions, with a particular interest in pathological gambling.

Simon Ghinassi

Simon Ghinassi is psychologist and has a research grant on gambling behavior in adolescence at the University of Florence. His main research interests focus on the study of risk and protective factors involved in gambling, with particular reference to the adolescent period.

Martina Smorti

Martina Smorti is Associate Professor of Developmental and Educational Psychology at the University of Pisa. Her research areas focus on different aspects of developmental psychology, particularly regarding risk and protective factors in adolescence and emerging adulthood and the psychological and relational risk and protective factors envolved in transition to parenthood.