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

NCT06904794 | Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: PI24/364
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 240
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

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.

Conditions

Mental Health

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (4)

• Problem gambling screening (PGSI)

  In the intervention group. This 9-item scale assesses problematic gambling behaviors in the last 12 months and harmful consequences related to gambling. Items are rated on a 4-point scale (0 = never, 3 = almost always). The final score ranges from 0 to 27 and can be interpreted as follows: 0 = non-problem gamblers, 1-2 = low-risk gamblers, 3-7 = moderate-risk gamblers, and 8 and above = problem gamblers).

  Baseline

• Problem gambling screening (PGSI)

  In the intervention group. This 9-item scale assesses problematic gambling behaviors in the last 12 months and harmful consequences related to gambling. Items are rated on a 4-point scale (0 = never, 3 = almost always). The final score ranges from 0 to 27 and can be interpreted as follows: 0 = non-problem gamblers, 1-2 = low-risk gamblers, 3-7 = moderate-risk gamblers, and 8 and above = problem gamblers).

  Three-months follow-up

• Problem gambling screening (PGSI)

  In the control group. This 9-item scale assesses problematic gambling behaviors in the last 12 months and harmful consequences related to gambling. Items are rated on a 4-point scale (0 = never, 3 = almost always). The final score ranges from 0 to 27 and can be interpreted as follows: 0 = non-problem gamblers, 1-2 = low-risk gamblers, 3-7 = moderate-risk gamblers, and 8 and above = problem gamblers).

  Baseline

• Problem gambling screening (PGSI)

  In the control group. This 9-item scale assesses problematic gambling behaviors in the last 12 months and harmful consequences related to gambling. Items are rated on a 4-point scale (0 = never, 3 = almost always). The final score ranges from 0 to 27 and can be interpreted as follows: 0 = non-problem gamblers, 1-2 = low-risk gamblers, 3-7 = moderate-risk gamblers, and 8 and above = problem gamblers).

  Three-months follow-up

Secondary Outcomes (46)

• Gender

  Baseline

• Age

  Baseline

• Nationality

  Baseline

• Current city of residence

  Baseline

• Cohabitation

  Baseline

Study Arms (2)

GAMBL-OUT escape room

EXPERIMENTAL

Behavioral: GAMBL-OUT program

Wait-list control

NO INTERVENTION

Interventions

GAMBL-OUT program BEHAVIORAL

The GAMBL-OUT program consists of two sessions: the first one involves a digital escape room to be delivered in the classroom and a series of physical props to be used during the experience. In small groups (4-5 students), participants need to work together to solve different puzzles and riddles, all of them related to the story of young adults who are dealing with problem gambling. By the end of the game, which will have a limited time (50 minutes), each group will have gained access to a different password. The second session will start from here: each group will share their password so the final puzzle can be solved, and the game will conclude with in a group discussion about what was learned (40 minutes).

GAMBL-OUT escape room

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 16 Years - 18 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Child (0-17), Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• 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

You may not qualify if:

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

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Hospital Miguel Servet: lead

Study Sites (1)

Department of Psychiatry. Miguel Servet University Hospital

Zaragoza, 50009, Spain

RECRUITING

Related Publications (1)

• Barcelo-Soler A, Monreal-Bartolome A, Perez-Aranda A, Campos D, Beltran-Ruiz M, Puebla-Guedea M, Cabrera-Gil I, Garcia-Campayo J, Lopez-Del-Hoyo Y. Evaluation of the gambling habits of Spanish adolescents and young adults post-COVID-19 and implementation of a digital escape room intervention for preventing gambling: study protocol of a cluster-randomized controlled trial (GAMBL-OUT project). BMC Psychol. 2025 Jul 1;13(1):690. doi: 10.1186/s40359-025-03035-x.

  PMID: 40598402 DERIVED

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Psychological Well-Being

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Personal Satisfaction; Behavior

Central Study Contacts

Javier García Campayo

CONTACT

976 50 65 78; investigaprimaria@gmail.com

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Principal Investigator

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: March 25, 2025
• First Posted: April 1, 2025
• Study Start: April 2, 2025
• Primary Completion: December 30, 2025
• Study Completion: March 31, 2026
• Last Updated: September 9, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-09

Locations

ES (1)