Mental and Social Health Commons^™

Research Brief: "Employment Status Of Veterans Receiving Substance Abuse Treatment From The U.S. Department Of Veterans Affairs", Institute For Veterans And Military Families At Syracuse University

Institute for Veterans and Military Families

This study investigates how the severity of PTSD symptoms relates to employment and earnings, it found that Veterans with more severe symptoms of PTSD, were more likely to work part-time or not at all rather than have full time work. In practice, treating PTSD, even if some symptoms remain, could result in better employment outcomes for veterans. In policy, Policy makers should consider providing previously successful programs for veterans with PTSD for individuals with other mental health conditions. Suggestions for future research include A large, controlled, longitudinal survey would allow researchers to investigate more thoroughly how PTSD symptoms relate to …

Putting Regulatory Data To Work At The Service Of Public Health: Utilizing Data Collected Under The Clean Water Act, Jyotsna S. Jagai, Barbara J. Rosenbaum, Suzanne M. Pierson, Lynne C. Messer, Kristen M. Rappazzo, Elena N. Naumova, Danelle T. Lobdell

Community Health Faculty Publications and Presentations

Under the Clean Water Act, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) collects information from states on intended use and impairment of each water body. We explore the feasibility of using these data, collected for regulatory purposes, for public health analyses. Combining EPA impairment data and stream hydrology information we estimated the percent of stream length impaired for any use, recreational use, or drinking water use per county in the US as exposure variables. For health outcomes we abstracted county-level hospitalization rates of gastrointestinal infections, GI (ICD-9CM 001-009 excluding 008.45) and gastrointestinal symptoms, GS (ICD-9CM 558.9, 787) among US adults aged …

Research Brief: "Suicide Among Patients In The Veterans Affairs Health System: Rural-Urban Differences In Rates, Risks, And Methods", Institute For Veterans And Military Families At Syracuse University

Institute for Veterans and Military Families

This brief is about the differences between rural and urban veterans in risks and rates for suicide. In policy and practice, communities should implement support programs for rural veterans, and veteran families should educate themselves about the risk factors for suicide and support veterans in their families; policymakers should increase VA outreach programs in rural areas, as well as programs educating rural veterans about the importance of mental health treatment for those at risk for suicide. Suggestions for future research include looking at the impact of social context on suicide rates, determining the relationship between suicide risk for rural veterans …

Rural Children Experience Different Rates Of Mental Health Diagnosis And Treatment, David Hartley Phd, Mph, Jennifer D. Lenardson Mhs, Nathaniel J. Anderson Ms, Mph, Samantha J. Neuwirth Md

Mental Health / Substance Use Disorders

Research indicates that privately insured, rural adults have lower use of office-based mental health services, but higher use of prescription medicines than their urban counterparts. Patterns for rural children may be different from urban children because of the limited supply of pediatric mental health providers in rural areas, which may lead to reduced access and lower use of mental health services in rural areas versus urban. Using data on children ages 5-17 from the 2002-2008 of the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, researchers from the Maine Rural Health Research Center find that rural children are significantly less likely to be diagnosed …

Session 4-1-C: Social Gaming: Problems, Policies And Predictions, Keith Whyte

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

Discusses key issues with social gaming.

Session 4-1-A: Roman Addiction: The Changing Perception Of Problem Gaming In The Roman World, Suzanne B. Faris

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

Describes the perception of problem gambling in ancient Rome.

Session 4-1-C: Social Media Gambling Games: Impact On Young People, Sally Gainsbury, Jeffrey L. Derevensky

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

Key concerns for youth

Normalisation & positive impressions of gambling

Misrepresenting the odds of winning

Encouraging transition to real money gambling

Development of problems

Session 3-4-A: Public Opinion And Problem Gambling, Don Feeney

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

What do we need to know?

How does the public perceive addiction?

Do they stigmatize addiction?

Do they recognize gambling addiction?

Do they understand the causes?

Do they understand the solutions?

Do they know where to go for help?

Do they know preventative factors?

What are they willing to do?

What messages are credible and appealing?

Session 3-3-B: Recent Eu Gambling Regulatory Developments: A Case Of Many Court Cases With Institutions Courting Inconclusiveness?, Alan Littler

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

Introduction

United Kingdom; shifting towards point of consumption regulation

Member States; competence to regulate is not boundless

Other European institutions; a different discourse?

Session 3-2-D: Predicting Gambling-Related Problems Among Internet Gamblers, Sarah E. Nelson

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

The Goal

Use actual gambling behavior to identify, with good reliability and validity, distinct groups of gamblers among those who have gambling-related problems

Utilize this/these algorithm(s) to set up an early warning system for players at risk of developing problems

Session 3-2-C: Mentor - The New Online Prevention Tool In Use And Its Preliminary Results, Doris Malischnig

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

• Responsible Gaming (RG) Standards Casinos Austria / Austrian Lotteries
• MENTOR: Behavioral Feedback System
• Outlook

Session 3-1-C: A Qualitative Examination Of Online Gambling Culture Among College Students: Factors Influencing Participation, Maintenance And Cessation, Rina Gupta, Jeffrey L. Derevensky, Michael Wohl

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

Qualitative research: focus groups

Population: college students

Objective: achieve a better understanding of the factors attracting students to online gambling including the role played by social media sites.

More importantly, the issue of migration between the play-for-fun gambling social media sites and online gambling was of primary interest.

Session 2-4-G: Gambling Segmentation Studies A General Approach To Segmentation For Various Gambling Agencies, Paul Lauzon, Don Feeney

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

What is Segmentation?

A segmentation groups a market or population into meaningful subgroups

Segment members share characteristics and market influences that cause them to have similar product and/or service needs

Each segment is unique from the other segments

Session 2-4-D: New Educational Tools For Gambling Machine Players, Nigel E. Turner

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

Purpose

This paper will discuss the development of a series of education tools designed to teach players about the nature of gambling machines.

Currently being evaluated.

Session 2-3-C: Sports Betting Of Adolescents In Croatia: From Favorable Environment To Psychosocial Consequences, Dora Dodig, Neven Ricijas Phd, Valentina Kranzelic, Aleksandra Huic

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

Social context

Expansion of places registered for gambling, especially sports betting

Croatian Law on Games of Chance (2009.)

• Sports betting is illegal for minors (<18)
• Minimum 200 meters from schools

Session 2-3-C: How Do Teenagers’ Differentiate Computer Gaming From Gambling, Margaret Carran, Julia Hornle, Mark Griffiths

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

Aims of the study

Part I – qualitative focus groups to find out:

• How some of London adolescents view gambling following the significant expansion of perceived opportunities to gamble in UK since 2007
• What they think gambling is and whether it differs from what law considers gambling to be
• What they think about the similarities and differences between computer games and monetary forms of gambling and in particular whether they recognise gambling types activities within computer games; and
• What they know about law relating to gambling and how, if at all, it influences their behaviour.
• To identify the main theme …

Session 2-2-A: Effectiveness Of Brief Interventions For Problem Gambling: A Randomized Controlled Trial, Max Abbott

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

Introduction

Problem gambling a significant public health and social issue

Significant investment in publicly funded intervention services (Helpline, face-to-face counselling)

No formal evaluation of effectiveness, in general or with specific groups

Mid-Morning Break And Poster Sessions: Comorbidity Among Pathological Gamblers Seeking Treatment, Daniela Gonzalez-Sicilia, Louise Nadeau

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

Context of the study

Pathological gambling prevalence in the general population: United States 0.42% (Petry et al., 2005), Canada 0.5% (Rush et al., 2008), Quebec 0.7% (Kairouz et al., 2011)

Epidemiological surveys (i.e. NESARC) indicate that pathological gambling is usually accompanied by other comorbid disorders, such as: Alcohol and drug abuse (prevalence of 25 and 27%, respectively), alcohol and drug dependence (48 and 11%), mood disorders (50%), anxiety disorders (41%), personality disorders (61%). (Petry et al., 2005)

The comorbidity found in clinical samples is usually higher than that in the general population because it is more likely for a person …

Mid-Morning Break And Poster Sessions: Survey Of Internet User’S Intentions About Gambling On A Legal Online Site, Emilie Vezina, Serge Sevigny, Christian Jacques, Isabelle Beaudoin, Isabelle Giroux

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

While many governments are considering the option of legalizing online gambling, mental health professionals and public health advocates worry that it will increase the number of problem gamblers. Results of the survey show that 3% of the sample, composed of 1009 Internet users, intended to gamble real money on the new online legal site, 6% would gamble without money, and 5% would visit the new site without gambling. Nearly 45% of those who intended to visit the legal gambling site were Internet non-gamblers in the last year. Half of online gamblers intended to gamble on the new legal site. Also, …

Mid-Morning Break And Poster Sessions: Application Of The Theory Of Planned Behaviour Within School-Based Prevention Programs For Adolescent Gambling, Renee St-Pierre, Jeffrey L. Derevensky, Rina Gupta, Caroline Temcheff

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

The theory of planned behaviour (TPB) and the concept of anticipatory negative emotions have attracted considerable research attention in the formulation of effective preventive interventions. This approach has identified several key constructs (i.e., attitudes, subjective norms, perceptions of control, anticipation of negative emotions) as valid predictors of gambling intentions and behaviour. However, no empirical investigation has utilized these constructs in the design or evaluation of a youth problem gambling prevention initiative.

Objectives. The current research aims to assess the effects of a prevention video on gambling-related attitudes, subjective norms, control perceptions, anticipated negative emotions, and intentions. The video focuses on …

Session 2-1-C: Amphetamine Effects And The Possible Role Of Sesitization In Pathological Gambling, Martin Zack Phd

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

Background

Addiction is a brain disorder caused by chronic exposure to drugs (Leshner, 1997)

Pathological Gambling (PG) shares many features of drug addiction (Holden 2001; Petry, 2006; Potenza, 2006)

PG may be caused by chronic exposure to gambling

Neuroplasticity (Tamminga and Nestler, 2006)

Sensitization (increased dopamine; DA) response to drug or environmental signals for reward (Robinson and Berridge, 2001)

Robust sensitization: Repeated low-dose amphetamine

Session 2-1-A: Long-Term Client Outcomes The State-Wide Gambling Therapy Service South Australia, Peter W. Harvey, David Smith, Rachel Humeniuk

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

Overview

1. Statewide Gambling Therapy Service, SA

• context
• service model
• routine activity, KPIs and outcomes
• ongoing research programmes

2. examples of some specific study outcomes

3. larger service evaluation outcomes

Session 1-4-C: Gambling Behavior And Motivation Across Uk Older Adult Populations, Julie Pattinson, Adrian Parke Dr

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

Target Group: UK Older adults 65+

Aim: Develop knowledge and understanding of gambling related harm

Background: limited empirical research - ignored

High prevalence detected

Session 1-4-D: Leading Together: The Evolution Of Responsible Gambling In Canada, Jim Engel, Paul Pellizzari, Paul W. Smith

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

Agenda

Background: Gambling in Canada
Responsible Gambling Framework
The notion of “player sustainability”
Video Lottery Terminals (VLTs)
Internet gambling
Branding RG
Data analytics
Voluntary Self-Exclusion
RG Standards
Leading together: collaboration across jurisdictions

Session 1-4-A: Comparing Longitudinal Studies Of Gambling: Methods & Findin, Rachel A. Volberg

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

What do we know about risk factors for PG?

Vast majority of research carried out on PG risk factors has involved cross-sectional surveys

PG status at a single point in time statistically correlated with behaviors & characteristics assessed at the same time

Cannot resolve the “chicken and egg” problem

• Does PG precede other disorders?
• Do other disorders precede PG?
• Or does one underlying condition account for both?

Session 1-4-A: Pathways Of Gambling Problem Severity: Follow-Up From A General Population Survey, Sylvia Kairouz, Christelle Luce

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

Study objectives

Describe trajectories of change in gambling patterns and problems among a cohort of gamblers;

Model change over time based on life events.

Session 1-4-B: Gambling And Marijuana Use In The Netherlands: Is Legalization The Best Tool For Dealing With "Naughty Habits?", William N. Thompson, Laura K. Thompson

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

In 1976, the Netherlands embraced two policy initiatives which encompassed similar objectives. The policies sought to control “undesired substances” via the process of legalization. One legalization process involved casino gambling. The policies have sometimes led to desired results (the right road), while at other times they have led to undesirable results (the wrong road). Now in 2013, without an observable crossroad or even fork in the road, The Netherlands is poised to deviate from a right road to travel down a wrong road by placing rather severe restrictions upon the operations of “Coffee Houses” which have been “serving” customers measured …

Session 1-3-E: Hitting The Sweet Spot: Lottery Promotion And Vulnerability, Elisabeth Papineau, Jean-François Biron, Fanny Lemetayer, Amadou Barry

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

Literature about lottery marketing and vulnerability

Lottery advertising in Quebec

Project phases

Results

Conclusion

Session 1-3-F: New Zealand Prospective Research: The Pacific Islands Families Study, Treatment Outcome Study And National Gambling Study, Max Abbott

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

Aims

Determine optimum pathways for children and families during critical developmental periods

Identify risk and resilience factors that influence positive and negative outcomes

Provide Pacific-specific evidence

Make empirically-based strategic recommendations to improve the health and well-being of Pacific children and families and address social disparities

Session 1-3-F: The Victorian Gambling Study Identifying And Predicting Risks, Rosa Billi

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

Overview

Background

Study design

• Incidence
• Transitions
• Risk & protective
• Co morbidities