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Intention to Change and Treatment-Seeking in Pathological Gamblers and Investors: An Experimental Study in Young Adults

NCT ID: NCT06681103

Last Updated: 2025-12-24

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

COMPLETED

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

1112 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2024-12-20

Study Completion Date

2025-06-30

Brief Summary

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The goal of this study is to investigate if personalized online normative feedback (PONF) can increase intention to change and help-seeking behaviors in young adults with gambling or trading problems in Spain. The main questions it aims to answer are:

1. Does PONF increase intention to change and help-seeking behaviors?
2. How does receiving PONF affect gambling and trading behaviors?

Researchers will compare three groups:

* Evaluation group: A control group with pre- and post-assessments.
* Delayed evaluation group: A control group with only a post-assessment, to control for the effect of the assessment.
* FNPO group: An intervention group receiving PONF after the initial evaluation and completing both pre- and post-assessments.

Participants will:

* Receive PONF or no feedback at the first evaluation.
* Complete initial and follow-up assessments after 12 weeks.

Detailed Description

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Despite the availability of treatment options, the percentage of individuals with problem gambling who seek help or treatment remains low. To reach a larger number of pathological gamblers, other forms of online or self-guided interventions have been developed, with personalised normative feedback (NPF) being the most widely applied modality in the prevention of problem gambling in the young adult population. However, the majority of studies on the efficacy of PNF only assess its impact on the intensity and severity of gambling behaviour, and do not analyse its potential effect on increasing intention to change and treatment-seeking behaviour. Furthermore, there is a lack of studies analyzing the efficacy of NPF in reducing new forms of online money spending linked to pathological gambling, such as betting on video games and excessive trading of financial assets, including cryptocurrencies.

The present project has two objectives: (1) to quantify the intention to change and the prevalence of help-seeking behaviours in the Spanish young adult population with pathological gambling or trading behaviours; and (2) to analyze the effectiveness of personalised online normative feedback (PONF) to increase intention to change and help-seeking in this population.

The study will employ a randomised controlled design (three Solomon groups) with one intervention group and two control groups. The study will involve a sample of at least 472 men and women living in Spain, aged between 18 and 34 years. The impact of receiving FNPO on gambling and trading behaviour will be analysed over a 12-week period. This will include an assessment of the intention to change and treatment seeking, as well as the longitudinal trajectory of gambling and trading behaviours (in terms of intensity, frequency and severity). Furthermore, individual, interpersonal and contextual factors will be evaluated in order to ascertain the profile of those with gambling and trading issues who may derive the greatest benefit from this type of intervention.

This project is pioneering both nationally and internationally. Furthermore, this study will assess for the first time the intention to change and help-seeking in young adults with gambling behaviour (in traditional and new formats such as video games) and pathological trading. It will also develop and analyze the effectiveness of the first tool to mobilize change and reduce the prevalence of these behaviours. Furthermore, the study design will enable an independent assessment of the impact of both the intervention and the assessment of pathological gambling and trading behaviours on the individual.

Conditions

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Gambling Disorder

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

This design follows a Solomon three-group structure, enabling the independent evaluation of the immediate effects that the pre-test assessment and the intervention may have on the study's dependent variables (intention to change and help-seeking behavior), as well as their maintenance three months after the intervention. The following experimental conditions will be established: (1) control group with pre- and post-test assessment (assessment group), (2) control group with post-test assessment only (delayed assessment group) and (3) intervention group with pre- and post-test assessment, which will also receive personalised online normative feedback on their gambling and trading behaviour after the initial assessment (PONF group). To adapt the PONF to each participant it is necessary to conduct a pre-test assessment, so an adaptation of Solomon's design will be used.
Primary Study Purpose

PREVENTION

Blinding Strategy

TRIPLE

Participants Investigators Outcome Assessors

Study Groups

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Personalized Normative Feedback Group A

Participants in this group will complete a pre-assessment, which includes measuring their intention to change, help-seeking behavior, and gambling/trading behaviors (e.g., frequency and spending). After this, they will receive personalized online normative feedback (PONF) about their gambling and trading behaviors. They will then complete a post-assessment, which measures the same variables.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Personalized Normative Feedback

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Those participating in this condition will receive a personalised brief report which summarises the results of their initial assessment. The PONF will comprise the following elements: (1) Details of the main gambling and trading activities performed, including frequency of engagement and amount of money spent; (2) Scores on the criteria of pathological trading and/or PGSI (problem gambling), together with an interpretation of the results and the level of severity. All results will be accompanied by graphs enabling participants to compare their scores with the average scores of the Spanish population of the same sex and age range. To prevent an increase in behaviour in participants whose frequency or intensity of gambling/trading is below the norm, as recommended by Newall et al. (2023), the normative data will include extreme averages and percentages

Personalized Normative Feedback Group B

Like PONF A, participants in this group will complete a pre-assessment and post-assessment on the same variables. However, the key difference is that they will complete the post-assessment on gambling and trading behaviors before receiving the personalized online normative feedback (PONF). This design allows the study to evaluate whether compares one's own behaviour with that of the reference group could affects the participants' self-reports on their gambling and trading behaviors (i.e., social desirability)

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Personalized Normative Feedback

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Those participating in this condition will receive a personalised brief report which summarises the results of their initial assessment. The PONF will comprise the following elements: (1) Details of the main gambling and trading activities performed, including frequency of engagement and amount of money spent; (2) Scores on the criteria of pathological trading and/or PGSI (problem gambling), together with an interpretation of the results and the level of severity. All results will be accompanied by graphs enabling participants to compare their scores with the average scores of the Spanish population of the same sex and age range. To prevent an increase in behaviour in participants whose frequency or intensity of gambling/trading is below the norm, as recommended by Newall et al. (2023), the normative data will include extreme averages and percentages

Control group 1 (Assessment group)

Participants in this group will complete both pre- and post-assessments on intention to change, help-seeking behavior, and gambling/trading behaviors. However, they will not receive any feedback. This group serves as a comparison to both intervention groups.

Group Type NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Control group 2 (Delayed Assessment Group)

This group will complete only the post-assessment, measuring intention to change, help-seeking behavior, and gambling/trading behaviors, without completing a pre-test or receiving feedback, to independently analyze the immediate effects of the pre-test.

Group Type NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Interventions

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Personalized Normative Feedback

Those participating in this condition will receive a personalised brief report which summarises the results of their initial assessment. The PONF will comprise the following elements: (1) Details of the main gambling and trading activities performed, including frequency of engagement and amount of money spent; (2) Scores on the criteria of pathological trading and/or PGSI (problem gambling), together with an interpretation of the results and the level of severity. All results will be accompanied by graphs enabling participants to compare their scores with the average scores of the Spanish population of the same sex and age range. To prevent an increase in behaviour in participants whose frequency or intensity of gambling/trading is below the norm, as recommended by Newall et al. (2023), the normative data will include extreme averages and percentages

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* Engaged in trading or gambling activities (land-based or online) at least once per month in the past 60 days
* Aged 18-34 years
* Residing in Spain
* Provide informed consent to participate in initial online assessment, post-test, and follow-up

Exclusion Criteria

* Currently undergoing psychological or psychiatric treatment
* Diagnosed with alcohol or illicit drug dependence
* Scoring above 3 on the Oviedo Infrequency Scale (Fonseca-Pedrero et al., 2009), indicating potential random/pseudorandom or dishonest responses.
Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

34 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sponsors

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Ministerio de Derechos Sociales, Consumo y Agenda 2030, Spain

UNKNOWN

Sponsor Role collaborator

Universidad Miguel Hernandez de Elche

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Ainhoa Coloma Carmona

PhD

Responsibility Role PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Locations

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Miguel Hernández University

Elche, Alicante, Spain

Site Status

Countries

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Spain

Other Identifiers

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SUBV23/00004

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id