Gambling by Young Adults in the UK During COVID-19 Lockdown.

Gambling is a common activity amongst young adults in the UK, and was a behavior of interest during the early mitigation against COVID-19 (first lockdown). The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) was used to investigate attitudes, moods and behavior during lockdown in England. ALSPAC participants were invited to complete online questionnaires in May 2020, including a set of questions about frequency of gambling and gambling activities which had been asked three years previously. Mental health and wellbeing data and alcohol use were also collected as part of lockdown questionnaires. Gambling questions were completed by 2632 young adults, 71% female, with a mean age of 27.8 years. Overall, gambling frequency reduced during lockdown for both males and females, but more males engaged in regular (weekly) gambling. Gambling activities became more restricted compared to previous reports, but online gambling (e.g. online poker, bingo, casino games) was more frequent. Previous gambling behaviour predicted gambling frequency during lockdown. No associations were apparent between gambling frequency and measures of mental health and well-being. Heavy alcohol use was strongly linked with regular gambling during lockdown. Gamblers were more than twice as likely as non-gamblers to have experienced financial difficulties pre-COVID, but gambling frequency was not related to employment status during lockdown. Online gambling increased during lockdown, whilst offline gambling activities decreased in frequency. A small minority of regular weekly gamblers, who tended to be male and heavy users of alcohol, participated in a wide range of online and offline gambling activities.

Towards a conceptual framework for the prevention of gambling-related harms: Findings from a scoping review.

The global gambling sector has grown significantly over recent years due to liberal deregulation and digital transformation. Likewise, concerns around gambling-related harms-experienced by individuals, their families, their local communities or societies-have also developed, with growing calls that they should be addressed by a public health approach. A public health approach towards gambling-related harms requires a multifaceted strategy, comprising initiatives promoting health protection, harm minimization and health surveillance across different strata of society. However, there is little research exploring how a public health approach to gambling-related harms can learn from similar approaches to other potentially harmful but legal sectors such as the alcohol sector, the tobacco sector, and the high in fat, salt and sugar product sector. Therefore, this paper presents a conceptual framework that was developed following a scoping review of public health approaches towards the above sectors. Specifically, we synthesize strategies from each sector to develop an overarching set of public health goals and strategies which-when interlinked and incorporated with a socio-ecological model-can be deployed by a range of stakeholders, including academics and treatment providers, to minimise gambling-related harms. We demonstrate the significance of the conceptual framework by highlighting its use in mapping initiatives as well as unifying stakeholders towards the minimization of gambling-related harms, and the protection of communities and societies alike.

Relative importance of individual and social factors in improving adolescent health.

AIMS: In 2010, the English Department of Health launched a radical new public health strategy, which sees individual factors, such as self-esteem, as the key to improving all aspects of young people's health. This article compares the strength of association between key adolescent health outcomes and a range of individual and social factors METHODS: All participants aged 12-15 in the nationally representative 2008 Healthy Foundations survey were included. Six individual factors related to self-esteem, confidence and personal responsibility, and seven social factors related to family, peers, school and local area were investigated. Single-factor and multivariable logistic regression models were used to calculate the association between these factors and seven health outcomes (self-reported general health, physical activity, healthy eating, weight, smoking, alcohol intake, illicit drug use). Odds ratios were adjusted for gender, age and deprivation. RESULTS: Individual factors such as self-esteem were associated with general health, physical activity and healthy eating. However, the influence of family, peers, school and local community appear to be equally important for these outcomes and more important for smoking, drug use and healthy weight. CONCLUSION: Self-esteem interventions alone are unlikely to be successful in improving adolescent health, particularly in tackling obesity and reducing substance misuse.