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Resume Les Troubles lies aux jeux d’argent sont caracterises par des difficultes a controler le temps et l’argent utilises pour jouer aux jeux d’argent. Malgre la disponibilite de traitements, principalement cognitivo-comportementaux, peu de personnes consultent. Un modele de traitement possiblement attractif et realiste pour une bonne partie de personnes avec un trouble lie aux jeux d’argent serait oriente non pas sur l’abstinence mais sur des objectifs personnels qui peuvent inclure une moderation des conduites de jeu. Pour ce faire, les personnes seraient amenees a fixer des limites de temps et d’argent. L’application (app) pour smartphones « Jeu-controle » a ete specifiquement concue pour soutenir et faciliter cette demarche. Elle permet a la personne de fixer ses objectifs pour chaque session de jeu et de recevoir un feedback par rapport a leur atteinte. A la fin de chaque seance, les pertes ou gains sont enregistres. La personne est aussi invitee a coter son humeur. L’app peut etre utilisee seule ou en soutien a des consultations. Elle devrait notamment permettre aux joueurs de fixer leurs objectifs de changement (principe d’autonomie), de renforcer leurs competences (feedback) et de mieux identifier les zones de difficulte pour s’ajuster. Des etudes a venir devraient evaluer l’acceptabilite et l’efficacite de cette approche.

Online gambling has gained popularity in the last decade, leading to an important shift in how consumers engage in gambling and in the factors related to problem gambling and prevention. Indebtedness and loneliness have previously been associated with problem gambling. The current study aimed to characterize online gamblers in relation to indebtedness, loneliness, and several in-game social behaviors. The data set was obtained from 584 Internet gamblers recruited online through gambling websites and forums. Of these gamblers, 372 participants completed all study assessments and were included in the analyses. Questionnaires included those on sociodemographics and social variables (indebtedness, loneliness, in-game social behaviors), as well as the Gambling Motives Questionnaire, Gambling Related Cognitions Scale, Internet Addiction Test, Problem Gambling Severity Index, Short Depression-Happiness Scale, and UPPS-P Impulsive Behavior Scale. Social variables were explored with a latent class model. The clusters obtained were compared for psychological measures and three clusters were found: lonely indebted gamblers (cluster 1: 6.5%), not lonely not indebted gamblers (cluster 2: 75.4%), and not lonely indebted gamblers (cluster 3: 18%). Participants in clusters 1 and 3 (particularly in cluster 1) were at higher risk of problem gambling than were those in cluster 2. The three groups differed on most assessed variables, including the Problem Gambling Severity Index, the Short Depression-Happiness Scale, and the UPPS-P subscales (except the sensation seeking subscore). Results highlight significant between-group differences, suggesting that Internet gamblers are not a homogeneous group. Specific intervention strategies could be implemented for groups at risk.

This study aimed to assess the feasibility and impact of a game called “Pick-Klop” in 61 current smokers. Assessments covered the “Attitude Towards Smoking Scale” (ATS-18), the “Smoking Self-Efficacy Questionnaire” (SEQ-12), the “Attitude Towards Nicotine Replacement Therapy” scale (ANRT-12), the number of cigarettes smoked per day, intention to quit smoking, and stages of change. We observed significant improvements on the SEQ-12, the ANRT-12, and the ATS-18. An increase in intention to stop smoking and a reduction of the number of cigarettes smoked per day were also observed, as was a significant improvement of the stages of change.

Objective The aim of this study was to describe the characteristics of cannabis users and their levels of satisfaction with Stop-cannabis, an app intended for cannabis users who want to stop or reduce their cannabis use or prevent relapse. Methods A cross-sectional online survey was administered to users of Stop-cannabis, a French-language app for iOS and Android devices. All app users were invited to participate in the survey via a message sent to the app. Results For hundred and eighty-two users answered the survey. The app was used daily by 348 of the participants (around 70%). More than 80% of participants (397) considered the app to have helped them “a little” or “a lot” to stop or reduce cannabis consumption. Most of the users’ suggestions were related to the number or the quality of the messages sent by, or displayed in, the app. Conclusion This pilot study supports the feasibility of such an app and its perceived usefulness. A self-selection bias, however, limits the conclusions of the study. The efficacy of the app should be evaluated in a randomized controlled trial.

Objective: “Michael’s Game” is a card game targeting the ability to generate alternative hypotheses to explain a given experience. The main objective was to evaluate the effect of MG on delusional conviction as measured by the primary study outcome: the change in scores on the conviction subscale of the Peters Delusions Inventory (PDI-21). Other variables of interest were the change in scores on the distress and preoccupation subscales of the PDI-21, the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale, the Beck Cognitive Insight Scale, and belief flexibility assessed with the Maudsley Assessment of Delusions Schedule. Methods: We performed a parallel, assessor-blinded, randomised controlled superiority trial comparing treatment as usual plus participation in Michael’s Game (MG) with treatment as usual plus being on a waiting list (TAU) in a sample of adult outpatients with psychotic disorders and persistent positive psychotic symptoms at inclusion. Results: The 172 participants were randomised, with 86 included in each study arm. Assessments were performed at inclusion (T1: baseline), at 3 months (T2: post-treatment), and at 6 months after the second assessment (T3: follow-up). At T2, a positive treatment effect was observed on the primary outcome, the PDI-21 conviction subscale (p=0.005). At T3, a sustained effect was observed for the conviction subscale (p=0.002). Further effects were also observed at T3 on the PDI-21 distress (p=0.002) and preoccupation subscales (p=0.001), as well as on one of the MADS measures of belief flexibility (“anything against the belief”) (p=0.001). Conclusions: The study demonstrated some significant beneficial effect of MG. http://www.controlled-trials.com/ISRCTN37178153/ Funding: Swiss National Science Foundation Grant 32003B-121038

Background Validated Internet-based screening tools for cannabis use and abuse are needed. The present study aimed to establish equivalence between the previously validated Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST) as a paper-and-pencil (PaP)-administered questionnaire and its online use. Methods Two groups of cannabis users took part in this study and the results were analyzed using structural equation modeling. One group consisted of 150 participants and was assessed with the ASSIST PaP questionnaire in a face-to-face interview (the PaP group). They were recruited from three settings: a primary health care outpatient clinic, a general psychiatric facility, and an ambulatory specialized addiction treatment facility. The other group (the Web group) comprised 1382 persons who answered the online version of the same questionnaire. This sample was drawn from people who naturalistically visited a website dedicated to helping people with cannabis addiction. Results The internal consistency was good for the online questionnaire (0.74) and high for the already validated PaP questionnaire (0.91). The Web group, however, had higher scores on cannabis use than did the PaP group. The results show support for configural invariance, meaning that the one-factor structure was preserved across groups, although measurement equivalence between these two survey modes was not achieved. However, when the Web group was split into two random subsamples, measurement invariance was demonstrated between them by cross-validation. Conclusions Measurement equivalence was not achieved between the two survey modes. Nonetheless, subanalyses of the Web group demonstrated that the cannabis screening questions of the ASSIST can be used for online screening. Differences in ASSIST scores between samples may be due to the sensitive nature of the information surveyed, with possible underreporting in face-to-face interviews, or to the different characteristics of the Web group because of the specialized nature of the website.

Background Football (soccer) is one of the most popular sports in the world, including Europe. It is associated with important betting activities. A common belief, widely spread among those who participate in gambling activities, is that knowledge and expertise on football lead to better prediction skills for match outcomes. If unfounded, however, this belief should be considered as a form of “illusion of control.” The aim of this study was to examine whether football experts are better than nonexperts at predicting football match scores. Methods Two hundred and fifty-eight persons took part in the study: 21.3% as football experts, 54.3% as laypersons (non-initiated to football), and 24.4% as football amateurs. They predicted the scores of the first 10 matches of the 2008 UEFA European Football Championship. Logistic regressions were carried out to assess the link between the accuracy of the forecasted scores and the expertise of the participants (expert, amateur, layperson), controlling for age and gender. Results The variables assessed did not predict the accuracy of scoring prognosis (R2 ranged from 1% to 6%). Conclusions Expertise, age, and gender did not appear to have an impact on the accuracy of the football match prognoses. Therefore, the belief that football expertise improves betting skills is no more than a cognitive distortion called the “illusion of control.” Gamblers may benefit from psychological interventions that target the illusion of control related to their believed links between betting skills and football expertise. Public health policies may need to consider the phenomenon in order to prevent problem gambling related to football betting.