Self-Exclusion from Gambling—A Measure of COVID-19 Impact on Gambling in a Highly Online-Based Gambling Market?

The COVID-19 pandemic, and related changes of the gambling market, have been suspected to affect the risk of problem gambling. Despite media attention and political concern with this risk, study findings hitherto have been mixed. Voluntary self-exclusion from gambling was introduced on a national level in Sweden as a harm reduction tool in 2019, and this self-exclusion service in Sweden is a rare example of such an official, nationwide, multi-operator system. The present study aimed to evaluate whether short-term self-exclusion patterns were affected by different phases of COVID-19-related impacts on gambling markets in 2020. During the lock-down of sports in the spring months of 2020, three-month self-exclusion was unaffected, and one-month self-exclusion appeared to increase, though not more than in a recent period prior to COVID-19. Despite large differences in sports betting practices between women and men, self-exclusion patterns during COVID-19 were not apparently gender-specific. Altogether, self-exclusion from gambling, to date, does not appear to be affected by COVID-19-related changes in society, in contrast with beliefs about such changes producing greater help-seeking behavior in gamblers. Limitations are discussed, including the fact that in a recently introduced system, seasonality aspects and the autocorrelated nature of the data made substantial statistical measures unfeasible.

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Understanding Help-Seeking Behavior in Depression

Qualitative Health Research ◽

10.1177/1049732316681282 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 27 (1) ◽

pp. 100-113 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

Sigita Doblyte ◽

Eladio Jiménez-Mejías

Keyword(s):

Help Seeking ◽

Qualitative Data ◽

Evidence Based ◽

Treatment Gap ◽

Help Seeking Behavior ◽

Professional Help ◽

Seeking Behavior ◽

Gender Specific ◽

Specific Barriers ◽

Main Factor

Despite decades of evidence-based interventions, depression remains a great challenge for public health due to enormous treatment gap and lag which, at least partially, result from low professional help-seeking by people suffering from depressive symptoms. In this article, we aim to gain a better understanding of help-seeking behavior in depression, and how to intervene effectively decreasing treatment gap and delay by using a meta-ethnography approach—an interpretive technique to systematically synthesize qualitative data. It integrates views and experiences of 474 individuals with depression across 20 papers. Findings suggest several interrelated major concepts—help-seeking as a threat to identity, social networks as a conflict or support, and alternative coping strategies as the main factor for treatment delay—as well as multiple relational, structural, attitudinal, cognitive, culture-specific, or gender-specific barriers. A model of help-seeking as a threat to identity is developed and discussed in the context of existing research.

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The Impact of Universal Suicide-Prevention Programs on the Help-Seeking Attitudes and Behaviors of Youths

Crisis ◽

10.1027/0227-5910/a000178 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 34 (2) ◽

pp. 82-97 ◽

Cited By ~ 57

Author(s):

Bonnie Klimes-Dougan ◽

David A. Klingbeil ◽

Sarah J. Meller

Keyword(s):

Suicide Prevention ◽

Help Seeking ◽

Prevention Programs ◽

Universal Prevention ◽

Help Seeking Attitudes ◽

Attitudes And Behaviors ◽

Seeking Behavior ◽

And Behaviors ◽

Suicide Prevention Programs ◽

The Impact

Background: While the ultimate goal of adolescent suicide-prevention efforts is to decrease the incidence of death by suicide, a critical intermediary goal is directing youths toward effective sources of assistance. Aim: To comprehensively review the universal prevention literature and examine the effects of universal prevention programs on student’s attitudes and behaviors related to help-seeking. Method: We systematically reviewed studies that assessed help-seeking outcomes including prevention efforts utilizing (1) psychoeducational curricula, (2) gatekeeper training, and (3) public service messaging directed at youths. Of the studies reviewed, 17 studies evaluated the help-seeking outcomes. These studies were identified through a range of sources (e.g., searching online databases, examining references of published articles on suicide prevention). Results: The results of this review suggest that suicide-prevention programming has a limited impact on help-seeking behavior. Although there was some evidence that suicide-prevention programs had a positive impact on students’ help-seeking attitudes and behaviors, there was also evidence of no effects or iatrogenic effects. Sex and risk status were moderators of program effects on students help-seeking. Conclusions: Caution is warranted when considering which suicidal prevention interventions best optimize the intended goals. The impact on adolescents’ help-seeking behavior is a key concern for educators and mental-health professionals.

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