Abstract
Young adulthood is a developmental period from late adolescence to one’s late twenties or early thirties. Prevalence studies internationally have reported that individuals in this age group tend to have the highest rates of problem gambling. However, much of the prevention work designed to minimize the risk of problem and disordered gambling has been primarily focused on school settings and aimed at high school students. The objective of this study was to summarize the existing literature on the effectiveness of prevention programs aimed at reducing the prevalence of gambling problems in young adults. A systematic review was conducted following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Six electronic academic databases were consulted in order to examine the studies conducted during the last 20 years. After removing duplicates and adhering to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, nine studies were included in this review. All studies targeted college or university students and followed a selective or indicated prevention strategy. A Personalized Normative Feedback approach was incorporated in most of the studies, which had generally good results in reducing and/or minimizing at-risk or problem gambling. The limited number of studies included in this review highlights the need to address scientific quality standards before proceeding with the design, implementation and widespread dissemination of these preventive programs as well as the need to ensure the program’s efficacy prior to implementation.
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Adapted from (Ussher et al. 2008). Note. Green dot (+) = low risk of bias; Yellow dot (?) = unclear risk of bias; Red dot (-) = high risk of bias (Color figure online)
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Funding
Funding for development of this study was provided by the Council of Health from the Principality of Asturias (FUO-205-17) and by a Predoctoral Grant BP16071 from the Council of Education and Culture from the Principality of Asturias (Spain). The funding sources had no role in the study design, collection, analysis or interpretation of the data, in writing the manuscript, or the decision to submit the paper for publication.
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Grande-Gosende, A., López-Núñez, C., García-Fernández, G. et al. Systematic Review of Preventive Programs for Reducing Problem Gambling Behaviors Among Young Adults. J Gambl Stud 36, 1–22 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-019-09866-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-019-09866-9