To what extend are videos effective educational tools in gambling prevention? A study about the effectiveness of different types of videos among Italian adolescents

A large number of adolescents gamble, and are at risk for developing gambling problems (see Calado et al., 2016, for a review). For this reason, prevention of problem gambling among youth has become central in research and practice. Several of the gambling prevention programs used multi-media tools as videos or online materials as delivery mode, even without teacher or trainer intervention (see Keen et al., 2016, for a review). In this study, we aimed to verify the efficacy of two different videos with adolescents. One was focused on mathematic aspects related to gambling (“Gambling Lessons”), and one with the psychosocial negative consequences of problem gambling in adolescents (“Bluff”). To verify their effectiveness, an experimental design was conducted with three groups (“Gambling Lessons”, “Bluff”, and a neutral video) and three measurements (pre-test, post-test, and follow-up sessions). Participants were 311 Italian adolescents (67% Males, Mean Age = 16.87) attending different high schools in the North of Italy. Classes were randomly assigned to the three conditions. A set of self-report measures were administered at the pre-test, post-test, and follow-up, in order to verify changes over time in gambling-related knowledge and cognitive distortions, economic perception of gambling, and positive gambling expectancies. Results showed that only adolescents who saw the “Gambling Lessons” improved knowledge and reduced positive gambling expectancies.