Clinical trial NCT06904794: Evaluation of the Gambling Habits of Adolescents and Young Adults Post-COVID-19 and Implementation of a Digital Escape Room Intervention for Preventing Gambling in High School Students
Official title: Evaluation of the Gambling Habits of Adolescents and Young Adults Post-COVID-19 and Implementation of a Digital Escape Room Intervention for Preventing Gambling in High School Students: a Mixed-methods Cluster-randomized Controlled Trial (GAMBL-OUT Project)
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: NOT_YET_RECRUITING
Phase: NA
Conditions: Mental Health
Lead sponsor: Hospital Miguel Servet
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2025-04-01
Enrollment: 240
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 16
Maximum age (years): 18
Standard ages: CHILD
ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: PREVENTION

Brief summary: Gambling behaviors among adolescents and young adults have been experiencing an upward trend in the last years, possibly because of new habits developed during the COVID-19 lockdown restrictions. Different preventive strategies have been proposed: universal classroom-based interventions have shown promising evidence as preventive tools, but challenges exist in engaging the target audience effectively. Serious games, i.e., those designed with the specific intent to educate, broaden knowledge, and change behaviors, have been tested with positive outcomes. Digital escape rooms constitute a modality of serious game that has shown potential for a variety of educational purposes, but their efficacy for preventing addictive behaviors, as well as their long-term impact, has not been widely studied.

The present project aims at assessing the gambling habits of a sample of 16-25-year-olds in the region of Aragon, Spain, that could be compared to the data gathered before the pandemic started, so not only the prevalence rates can be updated but also potential differences in habits (e.g., preferred gambling alternatives) can be detected. This will undoubtedly help the design of effective preventive measures, such as the GAMBL-OUT digital escape room, a serious game to be implemented in high schools with the aim of increasing knowledge, reducing intentions to gamble, and changing attitudes towards gambling.


Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Only high school students aged between 16 and 18
* Being able to read and understand the Spanish language
* Willingness to participate in the study and sign the written informed consent form

Exclusion Criteria:

* Age: \<16 years old, or \>18 years old

Primary outcomes:
measure: Problem gambling screening (PGSI)
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Problem gambling screening (PGSI)
timeFrame: Three-months follow-up
measure: Problem gambling screening (PGSI)
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Problem gambling screening (PGSI)
timeFrame: Three-months follow-up
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Gender
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Age
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Nationality
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Current city of residence
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Cohabitation
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Country of birth of parents
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Education
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Employment situation
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Amount of money available for leisure per month
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Amount of money available for leisure per month
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Gambling knowledge scale (ad-hoc)
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Gambling knowledge scale (ad-hoc)
timeFrame: up to 2 weeks
measure: Gambling knowledge scale (ad-hoc)
timeFrame: Three-months follow-up
measure: Gambling knowledge scale (ad-hoc)
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Gambling knowledge scale (ad-hoc)
timeFrame: up to 2 weeks
measure: Gambling knowledge scale (ad-hoc)
timeFrame: Three-months follow-up
measure: Ad hoc questions asking attitudes towards gambling
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Ad hoc questions asking attitudes towards gambling
timeFrame: up to 2 weeks
measure: Ad hoc questions asking attitudes towards gambling
timeFrame: Three-months follow-up
measure: Ad hoc questions asking attitudes towards gambling
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Ad hoc questions asking attitudes towards gambling
timeFrame: up to 2 weeks
measure: Ad hoc questions asking attitudes towards gambling
timeFrame: Three-months follow-up
measure: Ad hoc questions asking intention to gamble in the future
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Ad hoc questions asking intention to gamble in the future
timeFrame: up to 2 weeks
measure: Ad hoc questions asking intention to gamble in the future
timeFrame: Three-months follow-up
measure: Ad hoc questions asking intention to gamble in the future
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Ad hoc questions asking intention to gamble in the future
timeFrame: up to 2 weeks
measure: Ad hoc questions asking intention to gamble in the future
timeFrame: Three-months follow-up
measure: Ad hoc questions asking the gambling habits
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Ad hoc questions asking the gambling habits
timeFrame: Three-months follow-up
measure: Ad hoc questions asking the gambling habits
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Ad hoc questions asking the gambling habits
timeFrame: Three-months follow-up
measure: Implementation outcome: General opinion of the intervention
timeFrame: Three-months follow-up
measure: Implementation outcome: Ease of use of the platform
timeFrame: Three-months follow-up
measure: Implementation outcome: Duration of the intervention
timeFrame: Three-months follow-up
measure: Implementation outcome: Difficulty of the instructions received through the platform
timeFrame: Three-months follow-up
measure: Implementation outcome: Amount of information received
timeFrame: Three-months follow-up
measure: Implementation outcome: Need for prior knowledge to carry out the intervention
timeFrame: Three-months follow-up
measure: Implementation outcome: Adequacy of the content of the intervention for the target population
timeFrame: Three-months follow-up
measure: Implementation outcome: Effectiveness in conveying information to you about the risks of gambling addiction
timeFrame: Three-months follow-up
measure: Implementation outcome: Perception of increased knowledge of gambling
timeFrame: Three-months follow-up
measure: Implementation outcome: Integration of educational messages into the dynamics of the Escape Room.
timeFrame: Three-months follow-up
measure: Implementation outcome: Adequacy of this Escape Room for the prevention of gambling among young people
timeFrame: Three-months follow-up
measure: Implementation outcome: Opinion on whether participants think it is likely that high schools in Aragon will integrate this Escape Room into their regular programming.
timeFrame: Three-months follow-up
measure: Implementation outcome: Recommendation of this Escape Room to young people in the participants' environment.
timeFrame: Three-months follow-up
measure: Implementation outcome: Consideration of whether this Escape Room is a useful resource for the prevention of gambling among young people.
timeFrame: Three-months follow-up
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Zaragoza
country: Spain
facility: Department of Psychiatry. Miguel Servet University Hospital
Study officials:
References: