Examining the Effectiveness of Fear Appeals in Prompting Help-Seeking: The Case of At-Risk Gamblers

Abstract

With a sample of Australian at-risk gamblers, this research examines the impact of gender and individual difference in experiential avoidance (EA; cognitive and emotional suppression) on the processing of fear appeals. Study 1, through thematic analysis, explores fear appeal perceptions among at-risk gamblers. The results identify that relevant threats, such as social and psychological, should be integrated into fear-inducing advertising stimuli. Study 2 uses multigroup comparisons in structural equation modeling (SEM) to test the robustness of the revised protection motivation model (RPMM) in predicting the effectiveness of fear appeals to induce help-seeking intentions in at-risk gamblers. This research examines the boundary conditions of the RPMM through the moderating roles of gender and EA. The results provide evidence that fear partially mediates the impact of perceived susceptibility (PS) on help-seeking intentions in low experiential avoiders, whereas high experimental avoiders resist fear elicitation. Furthermore, evoked fear does not lead to help-seeking intentions in male at-risk gamblers. In female at-risk gamblers, while fear prompts help-seeking intentions, PS (i.e., probability of harm) does not translate to behavioral intentions via fear. For both genders and low and high experiential avoiders, cognitive appraisals of PS significantly and positively impact help-seeking intentions. This research demonstrates the unique roles of gender and EA on fear appeal effectiveness in at-risk gamblers.

Conceptualising the role of marketing strategies of tourism providers in inducing risk‐taking behaviour

“…In contrast to the fear appeal that fails to advocate for positive outcome expectancy, or inform how this might be achieved, Rogers' (1975, 1983) Protection‐Motivation (PM) theory offers a comprehensive model to theorise coping responses. The emphasis is on four cognitive processes: estimated severity of the event, vulnerability or the expectancy that the event could occur, coping responses' efficacy (the perceived availability/efficacy of a coping response), and self‐efficacy (De Vos et al, 2017; Maddux & Rogers, 1983). In other words, the PM theory shows that when the presence of a threat is revealed, by any source of information (i.e., the media), the person then engages in certain cognitive processes of which he/she appraises the magnitude of this threat, the likelihood of facing that threat himself/herself, the availability of effective coping responses that can be followed to counter such a threat if ever happened to him/her, and how feasible these responses are to him/her.…”

A Perspective on Age Restrictions and Other Harm Reduction Approaches Targeting Youth Online Gambling, Considering Convergences of Gambling and Videogaming

“…However, long-term effects are less well known. For people with gambling problems, adults who had lower experiential avoidance were more responsive to fear-inducing warnings than were those with higher experiential avoidance (88).…”

Warning labels and messaging for youth gamblers

“…20 However, the long-term effects of threating messages are unknown, and individual differences (such as fear) may explain why fear motivates some people to change their gambling, but not others. 24 5. Use simple, descriptive messages rather than longer and more complex warnings.…”