Appendix B

Cover letter to principals

Evaluation form

Comprehensive report for principals

Cover letter to principals

Dear <insert principal's name>:

The first phase of <insert name of university, e.g., Brock University's > youth gambling research is nearing completion, and we have prepared a special report for schools, complete with an executive summary for principals.

Although we are pleased with the project thus far, there were several limitations to a survey such as this. We had a total of 2,252 students, but in some of the categories, only a handful of students were represented. As well, in a survey of this nature, we have to consider the tendency for a small percentage of youth to over or under report about their behaviours. These actions do not diminish the significance of the report but are a cautionary note on interpreting the data. This survey is one step in an attempt to understand the complexities of adolescents and problem/addictive behaviours.

As discussed previously, our research team would like to provide you and your staff with an interesting and interactive presentation that will explain the key findings of our research and suggest recommendations for secondary schools based on these results. Links to youth gambling prevention materials, curriculum and treatment resources will also be provided during this presentation. We will be in touch shortly to set up a date.

In order for our research team to evaluate how the entire research process was for all participating schools, we are asking principals to complete the enclosed evaluation form. Please do not put your name on the form Ñ all information is confidential. Please forward the form to <insert contact name and school board>. <insert contact name> will ensure that confidentiality is maintained by placing all evaluations together in an envelope and forwarding it to <insert name of university>.

Thanks very much for being a part of this important work. Let's hope that we can continue to work together in providing education, counselling and other forms of assistance to young people who face so many challenges as they grow up.

Sincerely,

Feedback to the youth gambling research team Evaluation form

Our research team is interested in knowing how the entire research process was for you and your school. Please complete the following form and forward it to <insert name of contact> at the <insert name of school board>. Your comments and feedback are greatly appreciated.

Was communication effective in planning the administration of the youth gambling survey?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Did the research team administer the survey with minimal disruption to your school?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Did staff and students' awareness of youth gambling increase as a result of participating in this research project?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Would you or your school participate in further activities with this project?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Was the research report understandable and informative?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Additional Comments:

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Comprehensive Report for Principals

Report on Adolescents and Gambling:
Attitudes and Behaviours of Youth in the Niagara Region
(Sample report) March 2002
The Youth Gambling Research Initiative
Brock University
St. Catharines, ON
L2S 3A1
Phone: (905) 688-5550 Ext. 4566
www.youthgambling-research-initiative.ca

Authors: Dr. Kelli-an Lawrance, PhD
Dr. John Yardley, PhD
Lisa Root, MSc
Bob Canham, BEd
Jennifer McPhee, MSc

Acknowledgements: The authors of this report gratefully acknowledge the Ontario Problem Gambling Research Centre (O.P.G.R.C.) for funding this important study. More than 2,000 students from nine secondary schools in the Niagara Region completed our survey, which addressed adolescents' attitudes and behaviours related to gambling. We extend our sincere thanks to these students as well as the principals, teachers, staff members and school board officials who so generously assisted us with this study. Thanks is also extended to the members of our aAdvisory Committee for their contributions to this project. Members include the following: Dr. Kelli-an Lawrance (chair), Dr. John Yardley, Lisa Root, Bob Canham, Jennifer McPhee, Angela Lippert, Heather Travis, and Kristie Willson. Finally, we would like to thank our excellent team of research assistants for their devotion to the project and their assistance in administering the surveys. Many thanks to: Aimee Beaubien, Nicole Barroni, Katie Burrows, Christena Butts, Michael Clark, Ben Custers, Bonnie Davis, Wayne Deruiter, Tara Doyle, Lyndsay Elliott, Jason Failes, Anita Federici, Chrissy Fera, Eva Gazso, Anthony Goodman, Ruma Goswami, Rob Kappes, David Lawrence, Kellie Murphy, Fern Pham, Casey Phillips, Andrea Ross, Caroline Richardson, Caroline Sottile, Nancy Santamaria, Caroline Sottile, Tanya Scott, Marcelle Sloetjes, Karilyn Reid, Wendy Shanahan, Jamie Sheepwash, and Chris Van Nest.

Executive summary

Over the past year, the Youth Gambling Research Initiative has focused on (1) exploring youth gambling perceptions and behaviours, and (2) examining patterns of gambling behaviour in teens along a continuum from experimental to problem gambling. Our goal is to better understand how some youth progress from experimental gambling to problem gambling and why some don't. We believe that if we gain a better understanding of this process, we can use this information to guide the development of prevention/education and harm reduction interventions.

A questionnaire was completed by 2,252 secondary school students in the Niagara Region. This self-report survey included questions that asked teens how often they gambled, what types of gambling they did, what tempted them to gamble and how they perceived their own gambling behaviours. In a survey of this nature we have to consider the tendency for a small percentage of youth to over and under report about their behaviours; however, these actions do not diminish the significance of the information in this report. Preliminary findings are outlined in this descriptive report. The report is designed to function as an information guide for school boards, related agencies, students who participated in the survey and the parents of these students. Most importantly, the information contained in this report will be used to guide the development of interventions aimed at preventing or reducing youth gambling problems.

Survey responses

Prevalence rate of teen gambling in the Niagara region:

• 28% of high school students reported that they have never gambled
• 72% reported that they do gamble

Frequency of gambling among teens in the past year:

• 25.2% reported that they have not gambled at all in the past year
• 31.4% reported gambling a few times in the past year
• 22.5% reported gambling at least once a month
• 9.2% reported gambling at least once a week
• 1.7% reported gambling everyday

Preferred gambling activities:

• The majority of teens reported they played lottery tickets and instant-win tickets.
• Teens most frequently engage in gambling activities such as cards, darts or pool for money as well as sports pools and Pro-Line.

Teens' self-perceptions of their gambling behaviours:

• 26.3% of teens labelled themselves as a non-gamblers
• 46.9% of teens labelled themselves as non-gamblers who gamble sometimes
• 18.5% of teens labelled themselves as occasional gamblers; 6.6% as regular gamblers; 1.7% as problem gamblers

Beliefs about the positive outcomes and negative consequences of gambling:

• Gamblers were more likely to believe that gambling has positive outcomes.
• Occasional gamblers were more likely than non-gamblers to believe that gambling has positive outcomes.
• Non-gamblers saw more negative consequences associated with gambling than occasional gamblers and regular gamblers.

Temptation to gamble:

• Gamblers felt a greater temptation to gamble under both positive outcomes and negative circumstances compared to occasional and non-gamblers.

Skill versus luck:

• Gamblers more frequently believed that skill was needed to be a good gambler than non-gamblers and occasional gamblers did.
• All groups believed that a little bit of luck was needed to be a good gambler.

Alcohol use, drug use and smoking among teens that gamble:

• Gamblers reported more alcohol use, drug use and cigarette smoking in comparison to non-gamblers and occasional gamblers.

Clinical measures of teen gambling.

According to an adolescent screening tool used to assess teens' level of gambling severity:

• 6% of the students surveyed were identified as gambling at problematic levels
• 20% of these students were female and 80% were male
• Very few of these teens labelled themselves as problem gamblers

Comparing teens who accurately labelled themselves as problem gamblers to teens who did not:

• Teens who accurately labelled themselves as problem gamblers showed higher scores on the clinical screen and reported higher involvement in gambling activities. They also placed higher bets, gambled at a very young age, used more alcohol and drugs and didn't participate in any after-school activities.

Do teens who gamble problematically want to quit or reduce their gambling?

• 12% of teens who accurately identified themselves as problem gamblers indicated that they wanted to quit in the following six months.
• 15% of teens who did not accurately identify themselves as problem gamblers indicated that they wanted to quit.
• None of the teens who accurately labelled themselves as problem gamblers wanted to reduce their gambling in the following six months.
• 21% of teen problem gamblers who did not label themselves as problem gamblers reported wanting to reduce their gambling in the following six months.

Based on the findings outlined in this report, it appears that:

• A significant number of teens are involved in gambling.
• A significant number of teens are gambling illegally.
• Teens who view themselves as gamblers see more positive outcomes than negative consequences of gambling, are more tempted to gamble and use more alcohol and drugs.
• A clinical gambling screen indicated that 6% of these students gamble at problematic levels.
• Some of them recognized the severity of their gambling but many underestimated the severity.
• Several differences have been found between teens who recognize the severity of their gambling and those who do not.
• The majority of students who do, do not want to seek counselling for their problematic gambling.

Summary

This information should be invaluable to help youth, families, educators, health and social services personnel, and policy makers better understand the factors leading to youth gambling and the issues it encompasses. This information speaks to the need for prevention/education and harm reduction interventions, and for adolescents it can possibly serve as protection against potential gambling problems. We plan to use this information to develop such materials, which will be made available to others who will support this endeavour.