Abstract:Background
The normalisation of gambling for young people has received considerable recent attention in the public health literature, particularly given the proliferation of gambling marketing aligned with sport. A range of studies and reports into the health and wellbeing of young people have recommended that they should be consulted and engaged in developing public health policy and prevention strategies. There are, however, very few opportunities for young people to have a say about gambling… Show more
“…Children aged 8 to 17 years (and their parents) have recommended gambling harm prevention strategies that are consistent with public health approaches, including advertising restrictions, campaigns about gambling risks, untangling gambling from sport and restricting gambling availability in community settings. 7,32 A recent study also found that there was support to address gambling risks and harms among gamblers including young men who belonged to sporting clubs. 33 However, few studies have sought to understand similar perspectives from young men aged 18 to 24 years, who are classified as young people, but are legally permitted to gamble in Australia.…”
Section: Introductionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Young people have been consulted in other areas of public health, including in the design of service and policy initiatives for mental health 28,29 . Creating structures that engage young people in the development of public health policies have been recommended by The Lancet Commission on Adolescent Health and Wellbeing and The WHO‐UNICEF‐Lancet Commission “A Future for the World's Children?” 30,31 The Lancet Commission on Adolescent Health and Wellbeing 29 stated that:“… adolescents and youth should be supported and empowered to contribute to designing, implementing and assessing policies, programs and systems that contribute to their health and wellbeing ” (p. 34).The WHO‐UNICEF‐Lancet Commission report 30 argued that young people have the:“… right to be involved in decisions and actions that affect them, to be able to express their views, which are then duly recognised by adults ” (p. 616).Children aged 8 to 17 years (and their parents) have recommended gambling harm prevention strategies that are consistent with public health approaches, including advertising restrictions, campaigns about gambling risks, untangling gambling from sport and restricting gambling availability in community settings 7,32 . A recent study also found that there was support to address gambling risks and harms among gamblers including young men who belonged to sporting clubs 33 .…”
Issues addressed
Research is needed to understand young people's perspectives about public health promotion strategies relevant for their health and wellbeing. This study provides suggestions from young male gamblers about sports betting harm prevention and reduction strategies.
Methods
In‐depth interviews were conducted with 16 young men aged 18 to 24 years, from Melbourne, Victoria, who regularly engaged in sports betting. A critical qualitative inquiry approach, using methods of constructivist grounded theory guided the study. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to interpret and construct themes from the data.
Results
Participants indicated three main harm prevention strategies. These were online consumer protection and regulatory strategies, public education campaigns that highlighted sports betting risks and harms and the creation of formal and informal support networks to reduce stigma and encourage help seeking. They also supported being engaged in the development of harm prevention strategies and suggested ways to help reduce barriers to engagement.
Conclusion
Young men recognise the need for regulatory, education and engagement responses to counter the risks posed by new gambling products. Young men may be difficult to engage in formal prevention activities, however, youth‐led and informal interactive mechanisms may help to overcome this barrier, and contribute to a comprehensive public health approach to gambling harm prevention.
So what?
Young men can draw upon their lived experiences of gambling to provide insights relevant for public health promotion. Mechanisms should be developed to engage young people in the co‐production of strategies and policies aimed at gambling harm prevention and reduction.
“…Children aged 8 to 17 years (and their parents) have recommended gambling harm prevention strategies that are consistent with public health approaches, including advertising restrictions, campaigns about gambling risks, untangling gambling from sport and restricting gambling availability in community settings. 7,32 A recent study also found that there was support to address gambling risks and harms among gamblers including young men who belonged to sporting clubs. 33 However, few studies have sought to understand similar perspectives from young men aged 18 to 24 years, who are classified as young people, but are legally permitted to gamble in Australia.…”
Section: Introductionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Young people have been consulted in other areas of public health, including in the design of service and policy initiatives for mental health 28,29 . Creating structures that engage young people in the development of public health policies have been recommended by The Lancet Commission on Adolescent Health and Wellbeing and The WHO‐UNICEF‐Lancet Commission “A Future for the World's Children?” 30,31 The Lancet Commission on Adolescent Health and Wellbeing 29 stated that:“… adolescents and youth should be supported and empowered to contribute to designing, implementing and assessing policies, programs and systems that contribute to their health and wellbeing ” (p. 34).The WHO‐UNICEF‐Lancet Commission report 30 argued that young people have the:“… right to be involved in decisions and actions that affect them, to be able to express their views, which are then duly recognised by adults ” (p. 616).Children aged 8 to 17 years (and their parents) have recommended gambling harm prevention strategies that are consistent with public health approaches, including advertising restrictions, campaigns about gambling risks, untangling gambling from sport and restricting gambling availability in community settings 7,32 . A recent study also found that there was support to address gambling risks and harms among gamblers including young men who belonged to sporting clubs 33 .…”
Issues addressed
Research is needed to understand young people's perspectives about public health promotion strategies relevant for their health and wellbeing. This study provides suggestions from young male gamblers about sports betting harm prevention and reduction strategies.
Methods
In‐depth interviews were conducted with 16 young men aged 18 to 24 years, from Melbourne, Victoria, who regularly engaged in sports betting. A critical qualitative inquiry approach, using methods of constructivist grounded theory guided the study. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to interpret and construct themes from the data.
Results
Participants indicated three main harm prevention strategies. These were online consumer protection and regulatory strategies, public education campaigns that highlighted sports betting risks and harms and the creation of formal and informal support networks to reduce stigma and encourage help seeking. They also supported being engaged in the development of harm prevention strategies and suggested ways to help reduce barriers to engagement.
Conclusion
Young men recognise the need for regulatory, education and engagement responses to counter the risks posed by new gambling products. Young men may be difficult to engage in formal prevention activities, however, youth‐led and informal interactive mechanisms may help to overcome this barrier, and contribute to a comprehensive public health approach to gambling harm prevention.
So what?
Young men can draw upon their lived experiences of gambling to provide insights relevant for public health promotion. Mechanisms should be developed to engage young people in the co‐production of strategies and policies aimed at gambling harm prevention and reduction.
“…Despite not being impacted by the climate crisis on a day-to-day basis, children in this study demonstrated a high level of consideration and empathy for the circumstances and challenges faced by others. Empathy in children and young people can be observed across other studies relating to climate ( Hickman et al ., 2021 ), as well as in other public health issues such as gambling ( Pitt et al ., 2022 ). Research shows that adults’ personal experiences of the climate crisis influences their strength of belief and opinion about the need for climate mitigation ( Weber, 2016 ).…”
Perceptions of the risks associated with the climate crisis are shaped by a range of social and political contexts and information sources. While some have expressed concerns about the impact of the spread of climate misinformation through social media platforms on young people, others have shown that the youth climate movement has played a key role in countering misinformation. Despite this, there has been very limited research with children about how they conceptualize the risks associated with the climate crisis, how they receive climate information, and how they understand and apply this to their own and others’ lives. The following qualitative study used photo-elicitation techniques and in-depth interviews with Australian children to address this gap. A total of n = 28 children (12–16 years) participated, with four themes constructed from the data using a reflexive approach to thematic analysis. Children were concerned about how the climate crisis would continue to harm their futures and the health of planet and people. They recognized that some groups and countries would experience more risks associated with the climate crisis as compared to others. While they received information from a range of different sources (school, family, social media), they mostly used social media to seek out climate information. They recognized that social media sites could be a source of climate misinformation, and argued that a range of strategies were needed to identify and counter false information about the climate crisis. Children's perspectives must be harnessed to improve information about climate risks and action.
“…These approaches continue to dominate. Studies show that stakeholders endorse a range of evidence‐based strategies that seek to denormalise the gambling industry, and focus on the problematic nature of products, rather than ‘personal responsibility’ messages 8,36,37 …”
mentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Studies show that stakeholders endorse a range of evidence-based strategies that seek to denormalise the gambling industry, and focus on the problematic nature of products, rather than 'personal responsibility' messages. 8,36,37 How then can we utilise information about gamblers' attitudes about the link between gambling and Australian culture, along with evidence about strategies from other areas of public health, to develop more effective denormalisation strategies in gambling? Focusing on regular sports and EGM gamblers (those who gambled at least monthly), this study aimed to explore two markers of gambling normalisation -social acceptance and cultural accommodation.…”
Objective: This study aimed to explore regular gamblers' perceptions of the social acceptance and cultural accommodation of gambling in Australia, which are two dimensions of the normalisation of gambling.
Methods:Qualitatively focused online survey with 363 adults in New South Wales and Victoria who gambled in a typical month. Open-text responses about the link between gambling and Australian culture were interpreted using reflexive thematic analysis to construct themes from the data.Results: Gambling was perceived to be a culturally significant part of Australian life due to existing traditions, the perception that gambling was central to the Australian identity, and perceived economic benefits. Participants considered that gambling was a common and socially accepted activity that was embedded in the activities of social networks. Participants also stated that gambling products, venues and marketing were embedded in everyday environments, although some believed that the embedding of gambling in society was harmful.
Conclusion and public health implications:This study demonstrated that regular gamblers largely viewed gambling as being a socially accepted and culturally accommodated activity in Australia. There is scope for governments to develop comprehensive programs to denormalise gambling, including learning from research, evidence and experience in other areas of public health.
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