How We Lost 90% of Participants on a Bad Bet:Results from a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial on Cognitive Bias Modification in Problem Gamblers

Whilst opportunities to participate in gambling have increased, access to support for problem gamblers is lacking behind. This lack of balance calls for improved and accessible intervention methods. The present double-blind randomized controlled trial (RCT) explored the effectiveness of two interventions targeting automatic cognitive processes, known as Attentional Bias Modification (AtBM) and Approach Bias Modification (ApBM). It was hypothesized these interventions would reduce gambling behavior and reduce or reverse targeted biases. Participants (N = 331) were community-recruited Flemish (35%) and Dutch (65%) adult problem gamblers motivated to reduce or stop their gambling who received either six sessions of active training (AtBM or ApBM) or of the corresponding sham-training (sham-AtBM or sham-ApBM). Due to high attrition rates (90.1% up to the intervention phase) the study was terminated before completion, since it would greatly limit the validity of any results. A post hoc qualitative study was performed on a subset of participants to gain insight into contributing factors for the high attrition rate. Issues negatively impacting participants’ motivation to complete the program were identified, as well as elements of the program that received approval. The results from this study provide a first insight into the potential of the use of online cognitive bias modification (CBM) interventions in problem gambling (PG). Suggestions and directions for future studies are discussed.</p

Gokken en (online) gokverslaving

Online gokverslaving is een nieuw fenomeen. In dit hoofdstuk staan we stil bij gokverslaving in brede zin, maar kijken we ook naar de trends in het denken over gokken en het behandelen van gokproblemen. Gokverslaving heeft de nodige overeenkomsten met andere verslavingen, maar kent ook een aantal eigen kenmerken. Ook staan we stil bij online gokken in het bijzonder: wat zijn hier de ontwikkelingen? Is er een verschil tussen ‘real-life’ gokken en gokken op internet? Het onderzoek naar de risico’s en gevolgen van online gokken staat nog in kinderschoenen. Dit is zorgwekkend, want online gokken is mogelijk extra riskant door zijn anonieme aard en laagdrempeligheid. Daarnaast is online gokken vanaf 2015 legaal in Nederland, waarmee we mogelijk een toename gaan zien in de gokproblemen. Ten slotte wordt er (kort) aandacht besteed aan de toenemende integratie tussen videogames en gokmogelijkheden

How We Lost 90% of Participants on a Bad Bet:Results from a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial on Cognitive Bias Modification in Problem Gamblers

Whilst opportunities to participate in gambling have increased, access to support for problem gamblers is lacking behind. This lack of balance calls for improved and accessible intervention methods. The present double-blind randomized controlled trial (RCT) explored the effectiveness of two interventions targeting automatic cognitive processes, known as Attentional Bias Modification (AtBM) and Approach Bias Modification (ApBM). It was hypothesized these interventions would reduce gambling behavior and reduce or reverse targeted biases. Participants (N = 331) were community-recruited Flemish (35%) and Dutch (65%) adult problem gamblers motivated to reduce or stop their gambling who received either six sessions of active training (AtBM or ApBM) or of the corresponding sham-training (sham-AtBM or sham-ApBM). Due to high attrition rates (90.1% up to the intervention phase) the study was terminated before completion, since it would greatly limit the validity of any results. A post hoc qualitative study was performed on a subset of participants to gain insight into contributing factors for the high attrition rate. Issues negatively impacting participants’ motivation to complete the program were identified, as well as elements of the program that received approval. The results from this study provide a first insight into the potential of the use of online cognitive bias modification (CBM) interventions in problem gambling (PG). Suggestions and directions for future studies are discussed.</p

How we lost 90% of participants on a bad bet : results from a pilot randomized controlled trial on cognitive bias modification in problem gamblers

Abstract: Whilst opportunities to participate in gambling have increased, access to support for problem gamblers is lacking behind. This lack of balance calls for improved and accessible intervention methods. The present double-blind randomized controlled trial (RCT) explored the effectiveness of two interventions targeting automatic cognitive processes, known as Attentional Bias Modification (AtBM) and Approach Bias Modification (ApBM). It was hypothesized these interventions would reduce gambling behavior and reduce or reverse targeted biases. Participants (N\u2009=\u2009331) were community-recruited Flemish (35%) and Dutch (65%) adult problem gamblers motivated to reduce or stop their gambling who received either six sessions of active training (AtBM or ApBM) or of the corresponding sham-training (sham-AtBM or sham-ApBM). Due to high attrition rates (90.1% up to the intervention phase) the study was terminated before completion, since it would greatly limit the validity of any results. A post hoc qualitative study was performed on a subset of participants to gain insight into contributing factors for the high attrition rate. Issues negatively impacting participants\u2019 motivation to complete the program were identified, as well as elements of the program that received approval. The results from this study provide a first insight into the potential of the use of online cognitive bias modification (CBM) interventions in problem gambling (PG). Suggestions and directions for future studies are discussed

Internetverslaving

Internet heeft ons veel goeds gebracht, maar het bracht ons op zijn minst één nieuw probleem: de (soms oncontroleerbare) behoefte om online te zijn. Wanneer kun je nu spreken van een internetverslaving? Waar ligt de grens tussen gezond en ongezond gebruik? En wat is de invloed van internet op ons gedrag? In Internetverslaving komen wetenschappers, behandelaars en ervaringsdeskundigen aan het woord