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29. PREVENTION OF PROBLEM GAMBLING: A SCHOOL-BASED INTERVENTION -- Project Approved 2002-03

Dr. Robert Williams (Principal Investigator)
Alberta Gaming Research Institute, School of Health Sciences, University of Lethbridge

Dr. Shawn Currie (Principal Investigator)
Clinical Psychologist, Addiction Centre, Foothills Medical Centre, Foothills Hospital

Dr. Robert Wood (Principal Investigator)
Department of Sociology, University of Lethbridge

This project expanded on a previous Institute sponsored evidence-based problem gambling prevention program delivered to high school students at 3 sites: students in the Calgary Catholic system, students in the Edmonton Public system and students in rural high schools in Southern Alberta. A certain component of the program was manipulated at each site to investigate ways of optimizing its effectiveness.

Status (Complete):

Implementation of a revised prevention program occurred in six separate school districts.  Over 1500 students had received the program by June 2004. It is one of the few evidence-based problem gambling prevention programs being developed and field-tested in the world. International interest has been expressed in adopting the program once it is refined. Scholarly conference papers were presented in November 2003 at the National Association of Gambling Studies 13th Annual Conference [Canberra, Australia] and in June 2004 at the 18th Annual National Council on Problem Gambling Conference [Phoenix, Arizona]. A poster was also presented at the Alberta Gaming Research Institute’s Research Reveals exhibits in Calgary, Lethbridge, and Edmonton which took place in October 2004. In addition, the results of the previously funded pilot project have been submitted for publication.

Williams, R. J., & Wood, R. T. (2010). Stacked Deck: A high school curriculum for the prevention of problem gambling. Center City, MN: Hazelden.

Williams, R. J., Connolly, D., Wood, R. T., & Currie, S. (2004). Prevention of problem gambling:  Lessons learned from two Alberta programs. In G. Coman, (Ed.), Proceedings of the 13th annual National Association for Gambling Studies Conference, Canberra, Australia, November 2003 [CD-ROM] (pp. 243-272). Alphington, Australia: National Association for Gambling Studies Inc.

Williams, R. J., Connolly, D., Wood, R., Currie, S., & Davis, R. M. (2004). Program findings that inform curriculum development for the prevention of problem gambling. Gambling Research, 16(1), 47-69. 

The Alberta Gaming Research Institute provides grant funding to support peer-endorsed academic investigations into many aspects of gambling research. The contents, recommendations, and findings of the associated research reports, posted on this website, represent the views of the researcher(s).

 Last Updated: 03/07/06