gambling on campus is risky business
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Gambling on Campus Is Risky Business . Magna Publications Audio Conference November 1, 2006 Presenters: Jeffrey Marotta, Ph. D Wendy Hausotter, MPH Oregon Department of Human Services. Source: USA Today – December 23, 2005. Campus Gambling is in the News. A Perfect Storm?. A ge: - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Gambling on Campus Is Risky Business Magna Publications Audio Conference November 1, 2006
Presenters:Jeffrey Marotta, Ph. DWendy Hausotter, MPHOregon Department of Human Services
Campus Gambling is in the News
Source: USA Today – December 23, 2005
A Perfect Storm? Age:
College years associated with a wide range of at-risk behaviors Availability:
First generation to be exposed to wide-scale legal gambling. Technological advances make placing bets easier than ever.
Acceptability: Operated by governments, commonly endorsed by schools, integrated into
mainstream culture. Advertising/Media:
More than ever. Promoted as sport, glamorized, winning bias. Access to cash:
The average college student receives about 25 credit card solicitations per semester (National Public Radio).
Gambling at CollegePercentage of college students who say they take part in gambling in an average week:
0.00%
2.00%
4.00%
6.00%
8.00%
10.00%
12.00%
14.00%
16.00%
18.00%
'02 '03 '04 '05
All Gambling
Card Gambling
InternetGambling
Source: Annenberg Public Policy Center
“At the college and university level, poker is pretty much the hottest thing going” Mike Edwards, Business Development Manager for absolutepoker.com
26% of college men gamble in online card games at least once a month
and 4% once a week or more
Internet gambling is illegal however there are at least 300 online poker rooms with an estimated $60 billion bet in 2006.
Gambling appears common and benign for most college students
Gambling at some level is the norm among college students 72% in Alberta sample 70% in Connecticut sample 88% in Minnesota sample
A sizable percentage of college student gamble excessively and show signs of a gambling problem (3.2% - 16.4%).
WHEN IT GETS TO BE TOO WHEN IT GETS TO BE TOO MUCHMUCH
Definitions
PROBLEM PROBLEM GAMBLING:GAMBLING: Gambling Gambling
behavior which behavior which causes or causes or disruptions in any disruptions in any major area of life: major area of life: psychological, psychological, physical, social or physical, social or vocationalvocational
PATHOLOGICAL PATHOLOGICAL GAMBLING:GAMBLING: Persistent and
recurrent maladaptive gambling behavior that disrupts personal, family or vocational pursuits
Lifetime prevalence of combined problem and pathological gambling
0%2%4%6%8%
10%12%14%16%18%
adults
Adolescents
collegestudents
Source: Shaffer & Hall (2002). Updating and refining meta-analytic prevalence estimates of disordered gambling behavior in the United States and Canada. Canadian Journal of Public Health, 92(3), 169-172
High Risk Groups
AthletesGreeks& Other Correlates
Gambling by college athletes
Source: Rockey, Beason, & Gilbert (2002). Gambling by college athletes: An association between problem gambling and athletes. EJGS: 7
2002 study on 954 students from 9 universities belonging to Southeastern Conference.
Results: Male athletes risk of developing PG is about 3X higher than average student.
02468
101214
PathologicalGambling %
ProblemGambling %
All Participants All AthletesMale Athletes Female Athletes
U OF MICHIGAN STUDY
72% of student athletes have gambled at least once since entering college; 45% of male athletes gamble on sportsOne in 20 male student athletes admitted:• providing inside information for gambling
purposes• betting on a game in which they participated, or• accepting money for performing poorly in a game
Student athletes who gambled on sports with bookies gambled an average of $225 per month
Greeks vs. Non-Greeks
General gambling:• Fraternity/Sorority Members 82%• Non-Members 80%
Rate of problem gambling:• Fraternity/Sorority Members 5%• Non-Members 2.9%
Source: Rockey, 2002; Southeastern Conference (SEC) study
Correlates of Problem Gambling
Male weekly or daily user
of alcohol or illicit drugs
relatively high disposable income
raised by a parent with a gambling problem
NOT associated with problem gambling:
amount of credit card debt
GPA school class level
Source: Winters, 1998
Plays with $ that is needed or borrowed
Expects to win; keeps playing to win back losses
Pre-occupied with gambling
Frequent, or spends more time gambling
Sticks to limits of money to play with
Hopes to win butexpects to lose
Can take it or leave it
Occasional gamblerPROBLEM GAMBLINGPROBLEM GAMBLINGSOCIAL GAMBLINGSOCIAL GAMBLING
Telling the Difference
Are we dealing with an epidemic?
Longitudinal data What colleges and universities are doing to address issue
Do college problem gamblers “mature out” of a gambling problem?
468 first year college students followed from age 18 to 29 (four data points at year 1,4,7, & 11)
Overall prevalence of past-year problems remained steady throughout the 11 years (2-3%) with lifetime prevalence of 10.3%.
75% of freshman with PG reported no problem as seniors.
Results suggest that gambling problems are not a persistent condition but rather people move in and out of problem gambling stages somewhat fluidly.
Source: Slutske, Jackson, & Sher (2003). The natural history of problem gambling from age 18 to 29. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 112, 263-274.
How Do College Addiction Policies Stack Up?
Source: Shaffer, Donato, LaBrie, Kidman, & LaPlante (2005). The epidemiology of college alcohol and gambling policies. Harm Reduction Journal 2005, 2:1
Methods: Information collected from 119 colleges using 40 item data collection instrument.
Results: All schools had a student alcohol use policy, only 26 schools (22%) had a gambling policy.
Conclusion: Since there are few college gambling-related policies, schools are missing an opportunity to inform students about the dangers of excessive gambling.
What Colleges Can DoAssessmentPartnersAwarenessTrainingAssistancePolicyapplies equally to 2- and 4-year institutions
Assess the problem
Preferred: student surveyAlternative: diverse focus groups
(athlete, greek, “average”, student council, class level, gender, ethnicity)
a few focus group questions
How common is student gambling? How are students gambling? Are you seeing and problems or negative
effects? What is the best way to get the attention of
students for an issue like this? What information/services should the school
provide”?
survey
your own, “survey monkey” type or from a vendor (may be best for confidentiality concerns)
e-survey may be best for college age IRB issues
Caveat: wording of questions is important
Cultivate potential partners
Academic departments: psychology, public health, athletics
Student organizations/student gov’t Administrative departments: health and
counseling services, financial aid, student affairs
Local treatment, prevention and recovery groups
Build Awareness
Can be low or no costInvolve students as much as
possibleUse a variety of means and
keep the messages alive
sampler of awareness ideas
Problem Gambling Awareness Week Campaign via fliers, posters, pamphlets Campus tv and radio shows Web-based info and resources Student orientation sessions/materials Address in course assignments: ethics,
psychology, sociology, government, health, film, journalism, business
Example: Problem Gambling Awareness Week
National campaign offering website, materials
Many states and local jurisdictions participate and can be your partners
www.pgaw.org
Include responsible gambling guidelines
Set a money limit and stick to it. Set a time limit and stick to it. Make it a rule not to gamble on credit. Consider any losses the cost of recreation Expect to lose and treat any winnings as a bonus. Don’t gamble as a way to cope with emotional or physical
pain. Gambling should not interfere with or substitute for
friends, family, work, or other worthwhile activities. Avoid trying to win back lost money. Become educated about the warning signs of problem
gambling.
Example: course work
Includes a chapter on state-supported gambling with discussion, debates and assignments
Example: website
thissite isextensive….why?
Because Lehigh U. knows the problem is real
Greg Hogan was:
a 19-year-old finance and accounting major at Lehigh University
president of his sophomore class a cellist in the university orchestra an employee in the school chaplain's office the son of a Baptist minister ….and a student with a gambling problem whose
desperation drove him to bank robbery and jail
Offer Specialized Training Student health and counseling staff Peer educators Resident assistants Student leadership Faculty, admin, coaches
Topics: signs, symptoms, referral and support
Offer Intervention & Assistance Assessment and referral and followup
support on campus Information on and connections to local
gambling treatment resources including counseling, helpline
National helpline Local (or campus?) Gambler’s
Anonymous Online resources
A Simple Screen: Lie-Bet Tool (Johnson et al., 1988)
1) Have you ever felt the need to bet more and more money?
2) Have you ever had to lie to people important to you about how much you gambled?
valid and reliable for ruling out pathological gambling behavior
useful in screening to determine whether a longer tool (e.g., SOGS, DSM-IV) should be used in diagnostics
Develop Policy
Address gambling as you would any other risky behavior
Avoid zero tolerance approach Internet is worth special attention Reference athletics’ existing policies
Resources
Handout offers an extensive list
Final advice
Start somewhere!
there are many pieces to aneffort like this, andeven one piece represents progress
After you put the pieces in place, give yourself credit…let key supporters know you are taking a stand
Parents Alumni Local media Other academic institutions