Cognitive processes, in particular, erroneous beliefs surrounding gambling outcomes and abilities, are thought to play an important role in the development and maintenance of disordered gambling behaviours. The current study investigated the impact of erroneous gambling-related cognitions on gambling severity and intentions to gamble, trialling a brief, online cognitive intervention designed to reduce gambling-related cognitions and intentions to gamble. One hundred and twenty one participants were randomly allocated to either an educational intervention condition or an alternative intervention (control condition). Participants in the educational intervention condition showed larger reductions in gambling-related cognitions than did participants in the control condition. The educational intervention significantly reduced erroneous cognitions from pre to post treatment, with effectiveness of the intervention increasing in those exhibiting more severe gambling behaviours.
While gambling is a popular and manageable recreational activity for many, it has become problematic for a significant proportion of society, with the majority of prevalence studies reporting rates of disordered gambling between 0.5% - 2% in the adult population [
The explanations of why people gamble and the consequences of problem gambling are complex and not yet fully understood. Some argue for dispositional causes while others believe it is fundamentally cognitive or behavioural in nature. Blaszczynski and Nower [
Cognitive distortions are inherent to disordered gambling, with most gamblers holding inaccurate beliefs about their gambling behaviour and likely outcomes. It is thought that these cognitive distortions both maintain and exacerbate disordered gambling. All gambling activities are games of chance (except poker); however, many gamblers interpret their gambling as a matter of skill, believing they have the capacity to influence the outcome of the game, creating false illusions of control [
In comparison to healthy controls, disordered gamblers have been shown to exhibit higher frequencies of erroneous gambling-related beliefs and hold a greater conviction in these beliefs. Even infrequent gamblers exhibit similar beliefs to disordered gamblers, albeit to a lesser extent [
As erroneous beliefs have been shown to play a fundamental role in the development and maintenance of gambling behaviours, cognitive approaches in the treatment of disordered gambling aim to challenge erroneous beliefs about gambling outcomes [
Despite the successes of cognitive-behavioural treatment methods, there is evidence to suggest that approaches relying purely on cognitive interventions are also effective in reducing gambling beliefs and frequency of gambling behaviour [
This finding was replicated more recently in a randomised-controlled trial in Australia comparing the effectiveness of cognitive therapy with exposure therapy [
Cognitive-behavioural and cognitive treatment methods generally take place over a period of weeks or months. Despite the successes of these methods, there is evidence to suggest that briefer cognitive interventions may be effective in reducing anxiety and fears relating to negative evaluations in social phobia, reducing the frequency and believability of negative cognitions in specific phobias, and increasing restraint and ability to manage food cravings [
Current literature examining the efficacy of brief cognitive interventions for disordered gambling, although limited, indicates that brief interventions may be helpful in reducing erroneous gambling-related beliefs [
Whilst there is little evidence on the optimal mode of delivery for gambling interventions, Phillips and Blaszczynski [
Given the extent to which erroneous cognitions have been shown to maintain the cycle of disordered gambling and the early evidence suggesting that brief interventions may be helpful, the current study investigates the impact of a brief, online educational intervention designed to reduce erroneous gambling beliefs in a non-clinical sample.
One hundred and twenty one Australian undergraduate psychology students (27 males and 94 females) aged between 17 and 69 years old (M = 24.79, SD = 11.16) were recruited to take part in an online study assessing gambling habits. As expected, mean scores for gambling severity (M = 5.01, SD = 7.94) were below the cut-off score which clinically defines disordered gambling on the Victorian Gambling Screen (VGS), indicating that the sample of participants were not a population with severe gambling problems. Participants reported low frequencies of gambling behaviour, with the majority of participants indicating that they had not gambled within the last month. Participants who did engage in gambling activities reported participation in a range of activities including electronic gaming machines, sports and horse betting, lotteries, card/table games and raffle tickets.
Participants answered basic demographic questions, provided information about their gambling behaviour in the last four weeks, and indicated their current intentions to gamble. Participants were then asked to complete the Gambling Related Cognitions Scale (GRCS) [
Victorian Gambling Screen (VGS). The VGS [
Gambling Related Cognitions Scale (GRCS). The GRCS [
Educational Intervention. The educational intervention involved participants reading a short text about gambling. The intervention was designed to target erroneous beliefs about gambling and included information specifically challenging beliefs about chance, luck and control. The text was taken from a disordered gambling treatment manual [
Alternative Intervention. The alternative intervention also involved participants reading a short passage about gambling. The passage provided informative factual information about gambling prevalence and types in Australia. This passage was designed to be interesting to readers, yet was worded such that the information was neutral and did not provide support for either pro or anti-gambling perspectives. The information for this intervention was drawn from a gambling report publicly available on the website of the Australian Psychological Society [
Mean responses and possible range of scores for all variables are presented in
Variable | Range | N | Mean (SD) |
---|---|---|---|
Gambling Severity | 0 - 60 | 121 | 5.01 (7.94) |
Cognitions (Before) Educational Intervention Alternative Intervention | 0 - 138 | 121 71 50 | 17.74 (18.27) 18.01 (18.79) 17.36 (17.68) |
Cognitions (After) Educational Intervention Alternative Intervention | 0 - 138 | 121 71 50 | 11.01 (16.04) 9.62 (14.84) 12.98 (17.58) |
Intention (Before) Educational Intervention Alternative Intervention | 0 - 4 | 121 71 50 | 1.16 (1.18) 1.17 (1.15) 1.08 (1.19) |
Intention (After) Educational Intervention Alternative Intervention | 0 - 4 | 121 71 50 | 1.02 (1.24) 1.04 (1.27) 1.00 (1.21) |
Two bivariate linear regression analyses were conducted in order to determine whether gambling severity and intentions to gamble could be predicted from gambling-related cognitions. Gambling-related cognitions predicted intentions to gamble, R2 = 0.26, F(1, 119) = 43.08, p < 0.001, and gambling severity, R2 = 0.39, F(1, 119) = 75.99, p < 0.001.
Two independent samples t-tests were conducted to compare the change in cognitions and intentions to gamble between the educational and alternative interventions. The education group had significantly fewer gambling-related cognitions (M = −8.39, SD = 13.54) than the group receiving the alternative intervention (M = −4.38, SD = 8.28); t(119) = 2.02, p = 0.046, two-tailed, Cohensd = 0.3. There was no significant differences between the educational (M = −0.04, SD = 0.15) and alternative (M = −0.03, SD = 0.09) interventions in terms of intentions to gamble; t(119) = −0.52, p = 0.607, two-tailed.
A hierarchical multiple regression was conducted to determine whether gambling severity moderated the relationship between the educational intervention and change in gambling-related cognitions. The educational intervention was more effective in reducing gambling-related cognitions in those with more severe gambling behaviours. Individuals displaying more severe gambling behaviours were more likely to benefit from the educational intervention. Regression equations can be found in
An interaction plot for intervention, gambling severity and change in cognitions can be found in
Adjusted R2 | R2 Change | F Change | β | t | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Gambling-related Cognitions | |||||
Step 1 | 0.020 | 0.028 | 30.474 | ||
Intervention | 0.168 | 10.864 | |||
Step 2 | 0.077 | 0.064 | 80.343** | ||
Gambling Severity | −0.253 | -20.888** | |||
Step 3 | 0.114 | 0.044 | 50.935* | ||
Intervention*Gambling Severity | 0.642 | 20.436* |
*p < 0.05, p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001 (2-tailed).
The present study investigated the impact of a brief cognitive intervention designed to challenge gambling-related cognitions and intentions to gamble. The study also investigated whether gambling severity impacted the effectiveness of the intervention in reducing gambling-related cognitions and intentions to gamble. Whilst the educational intervention was found to reduce erroneous gambling-related cognitions, it did not influence intentions to gamble. In terms of clinical implications, individuals with high levels of gambling severity experienced larger reductions in gambling-related cognitions than did individuals with lower levels of gambling severity.
Previous results have identified specific unhelpful cognitions and thought processes which underlie dysfunctional gambling behaviours, particularly those relating to luck, chance and skill [
In treatment settings, cognitive treatments that involve the provision of information aimed to dispute erroneous cognitions, have demonstrated effectiveness in reducing gambling behaviours and intentions to gamble [
Although previous research examining the efficacy of brief cognitive interventions for disordered gambling is limited, the present study demonstrated that the information provided in a brief cognitive intervention modified erroneous gambling beliefs, at least in the short-term, and provides useful insight for clinicians developing treatment programs for disordered gambling. Whilst the intervention was primarily designed to reduce gambling-related cognitions, it was also hypothesized that a reduction in erroneous cognitions would reduce the intentions to gamble. Unexpectedly, this was not the case; intentions to gamble remained constant from pre to post intervention. Whilst this is likely due to low baseline frequencies for intentions to gamble in the sample, making significant reductions in intentions to gamble unlikely; Steenbergh, Whelan, Meyers, May, & Floyd [
The reductions in erroneous gambling-related cognitions are a promising indication of the effectiveness of brief online interventions; however, without a measure of gambling-related cognitions at a follow-up after the intervention, it is difficult to determine the length of the effects. Future research incorporating these measures would enable clinicians to determine how such an intervention may be utilised in the treatment of disordered gambling. Although it is unlikely that such a brief intervention would be adequate as the sole form of treatment for disordered gambling. Providing information to clients who are on waiting lists for treatment or attaching this information to community websites may be a helpful tool to those who are unsure about seeking professional help or those who cannot afford treatment. Given that the intervention was more effective in those with more severe gambling problems, it would also be beneficial to further explore the impacts of a brief cognitive intervention in a clinical sample. This may yield larger effect sizes than studies using non-clinical populations, and also give an indication as to whether the intervention has any success in reducing intentions to gamble in a population classified as disordered gamblers, whose intentions to gamble are anticipated to be more dominant than in the current sample. Given the strong association between gambling-related cognitions and gambling behaviours, the findings of this study also have clinical implications in terms of the prevention of disordered gambling. Increasing knowledge and awareness around common gambling misconceptions and challenging erroneous gambling-related cognitions may be useful in preventing disordered gambling behaviours [
In conclusion, the present study demonstrates the immediate benefits of a brief cognitive intervention and provides a foundation for future research surrounding the development of prevention methods and online cognitive treatments for disordered gambling.
Ellison, L.J., Vale, K. and Ladouceur, R. (2017) Disordered Gambling: The Effects of a Brief, Online Cog- nitive Intervention in an Australian Sam- ple. Open Access Library Journal, 4: e3288. http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/oalib.1103288