1. |
- Alexius, Susanna
(author)
-
Assigning responsibility for gambling-related harm : scrutinizing processes of direct and indirect consumer responsibilization of gamblers in Sweden
- 2017
-
In: Addiction Research and Theory. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1606-6359 .- 1476-7392. ; 25:6, s. 462-475
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This study is an inquiry into how actors in the Swedish gambling industry, gambling problem prevention and support structures articulate responsibility for the problems that arise from gambling. A main point made in the study is that responsibility for the gambling-related harm is actively constructed and reproduced in a hegemonic way that situates the main responsibility for the emergence and handling of gambling-related harm on the individual gambler and that relies heavily on the individual's capacity to control and adjust his/her consumption to prevent gambling related harm. Drawing on extensive ethnographical fieldwork on responsible gambling practices in the Swedish context, the author brings attention to the often-unproblematized view of contemporary responsible gambling measures, and the need to develop a self-reflexive critical analysis of the ways in which responsibility is divided and assigned in this politicized market and wider policy field. As a conceptual contribution, an analytical distinction is suggested between measures of direct responsibilization (teaching and training gamblers to be responsible) and measures of indirect responsibilization (teaching and training intermediaries in the market, such as gambling agents and support association staff, to relinquish responsibility on behalf of the gambling consumer). The results indicate that such a distinction is fruitful for a nuanced understanding of contemporary responsibility policies and practices.
|
|
2. |
- Andersson, Annika, 1981, et al.
(author)
-
Participation in leisure activities and binge drinking in adults – findings from a Swedish general population sample.
- 2012
-
In: Addiction Research & Theory. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1606-6359 .- 1476-7392. ; 20:2, s. 172-182
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The aim of this cross-sectional study was to estimate the associations between participation in different leisure activities and binge drinking in Swedish adults. The study was based on a questionnaire in a general population sample (n=3567) of individuals aged 19–64 years old. Men and women were defined as binge drinkers if they reported that they had consumed alcohol at least once a month, and stated that at a typical drinking occasion they consumed five or more standard glasses (12g of alcohol). Multivariate analyses found associations between binge drinking and socializing with friends among men aged 19–30 years (odds ratio, OR 2.88), in the 31–64 years old age group (OR 1.87). Corresponding results was found in younger women (OR 2.36). A higher OR was also found for younger men who regularly attended sporting events as spectators (OR 1.83), and among respondents in the older age group who regularly played computer or video games (OR 2.11 for women and 1.61 for men). A lower OR for binge drinking was found for men who regularly participated in religious services in both age-groups. Lower prevalence of binge drinking among women was only found in the younger group among those who regularly participated in sports/athletics or other training (OR 0.51). Our findings suggest that prevention strategies could benefit from an everyday life approach, but also that different interventions should be used in relation to specific leisure activities.
|
|
3. |
- Andersson, Christina, 1955, et al.
(author)
-
Drinking context and problematic alcohol consumption in young Swedish women : Drinking context and problematic alcohol consumption
- 2013
-
In: Addiction Research and Theory. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1606-6359 .- 1476-7392. ; 21:6, s. 457-468
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Previous research has indicated that a variety of contextual factors are involved in the development of drinking behavior. An integrated perspective can extend our understanding of the context and circumstances in which individuals drink. In this study, a person-oriented approach, cluster analysis, was used to identify drinking context clusters in a population of 20- and 25-year-old Swedish women. A further aim was to analyze how these clusters were associated with problematic alcohol consumption (high episodic drinking (HED) and alcohol use disorder (AUD)). A total of 760 respondents were interviewed, some in 1996 and some in 2001. Self-reported effects of drinking and situational factors associated with drinking alcohol were used in the cluster analysis procedure. Logistic regression models were used to analyze the associations with problematic alcohol consumption. The results revealed four distinct clusters of drinking patterns: coping drinkers, social drinkers, controlled drinkers, and moderate drinkers. Differences between clusters concerning problematic alcohol consumption were found. HED was significantly more common among the social drinkers and alcohol use disorder was more prevalent among the coping drinkers. Age differences and to a lesser extent secular trends in drinking pattern could be observed. The findings suggest that information on drinking context can help to explain differences in patterns of risky drinking and AUD. This highlights the importance of identifying groups of individuals with potentially harmful drinking patterns, which could be the target of specific preventive actions.
|
|
4. |
|
|
5. |
- Berg, Noora, et al.
(author)
-
The relevance of macroeconomic conditions on concurrent and subsequent alcohol use : results from two Northern Swedish cohorts
- 2020
-
In: Addiction Research and Theory. - : Taylor & Francis. - 1606-6359 .- 1476-7392. ; 28:6, s. 501-509
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- ackground: The aim of this study is to examine the relevance of macroeconomic conditions (boom vs. recession) and own labor market status on alcohol use in youth and midlife.Method: Two Northern Swedish cohorts, born in either 1965 (boom at age 21 years) or 1973 (recession at age 21 years), included all pupils attending the last grade of compulsory school in Luleå, in 1981 (n = 990) or 1989 (n = 686), respectively. Questionnaires were completed at ages 21 and 43/39 years. Alcohol use was measured as volume of consumption (cl/year) and heavy episodic drinking (HED).Results: Women aged 21 years during the boom (Cohort65) consumed less alcohol and were less likely to be heavy episodic drinkers at age 21 years compared to those who were exposed to recession at the same age (Cohort73). In men there were no such cohort differences. Women, and to some extent men, in Cohort65 increased their consumption at midlife, whereas this decreased for those in Cohort73. HED decreased in both cohorts, but the decrease was steeper in the recession cohort. Analyses stratified by labor market status revealed between-cohort differences in consumption among women who were either employed or students at baseline; but not for men. Alcohol use for those unemployed did not differ between the cohorts.Conclusions: In our study, comparing two cohorts that experienced either macroeconomic boom (1986) or recession (1994) at age 21 years in Sweden, the association between individual alcohol use and concurrent unemployment in youth was not affected by macroeconomic conditions.
|
|
6. |
- Björk, Alexander, 1983-
(author)
-
Stabilizing a fluid intervention : The development of Motivational Interviewing, 1983-2013
- 2014
-
In: Addiction Research and Theory. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1058-6989 .- 1606-6359 .- 1476-7392. ; 22:4, s. 313-324
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Introduced in 1983, Motivational Interviewing (MI) is now widely regarded as an efficacious psychosocial intervention in the addiction treatment field. Drawing on research literature, this article asks how this was achieved. Contrary to common conceptions of the dissemination of psychosocial interventions within the addiction treatment field, this analysis takes neither MI's identity nor its efficacy to be inherent qualities, but sees them as being constructed by various actors. This construction work is described as stabilizing processes. Being loosely structured and flexible, it is suggested that MI can be regarded as a fluid intervention. This has presented difficulties for its subsequent stabilization. As MI has been differently operationalized in clinical trials, it was not obvious at first to talk about the efficacy of MI as a single object of concern in systematical reviews and meta-analyses. The article discusses some of the complexities involved in the production and dissemination of efficacious psychosocial interventions. Compared with other cases, MI displays a somewhat different mode of stabilization. It is argued that MI has been stabilized enough to be considered an efficacious intervention while simultaneously incorporating fluidity, which makes it useful in a wide range of clinical settings.
|
|
7. |
|
|
8. |
- Blomqvist, Jan, 1946-
(author)
-
Perceptions of addiction and recovery in Sweden : The influence of respondent characteristics
- 2012
-
In: Addiction Research and Theory. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1058-6989 .- 1606-6359 .- 1476-7392. ; 20:5, s. 435-446
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Respondents to a representative population survey were asked to rate four psychoactive substances (tobacco, alcohol, cannabis and ‘hard’ drugs) with regard to their severity to society and addictiveness, as well as the options for recovery, with and without treatment, from an addiction to the same substances. This article explores if and how these ratings differ with regard to respondents’ socio-demographic characteristics, their own and close persons’ substance use experiences, and, their attitudes towards people with substance use problems. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and logistic or linear regressions. Although the main difference goes between respondents’ perceptions of various substances and addictions, the results also point to some interesting differences with regard to respondents’ experiences and characteristics. Thus for example, women and respondents with no personal substance use experiences, tend to play up the severity and addictiveness of most substances, and to play down the options for untreated recovery from an addiction, whereas current risk users tend to take an opposite view. Main interpretations are that there is a general tendency to exaggerate the hazards of and risks with habits that are perceived as unfamiliar and alien, that current risk users at the same time dwell on a ‘false hope’ of being able to quit, and that women are, for various reasons, more inclined than men to worry about their own substance use habits, as well as those in their close environment. Potential implications, for further research as well as for policy and prevention, are discussed.
|
|
9. |
- Blomqvist, Jan
(author)
-
Recovery with and without treatment : A comparison of resolutions of alcohol and drug problems
- 2002
-
In: Addiction Research and Theory. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1058-6989 .- 1606-6359 .- 1476-7392. ; 10:2, s. 119-158
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- An earlier Swedish study compared assisted and unassisted misusers of alcohol, with different long-term drinking outcomes, with regard to drinking patterns, significant life events, and attributions as to what initiated and maintained recovery. It was found that environmental influences had a great, albeit somewhat different impact on the recovery processes in both assisted and unassisted subjects. A subsequent replication of this study, but on drug misusers, produced similar findings. The present paper uses data from both those studies to explore substance-specific characteristics in treated and untreated recovery from addiction problems. Comparisons include background data, substance use and life event data over an extended period surrounding the resolution, and subjects' perceived reasons for the resolution and for being able to maintain an alcohol problem-free or a drug-free lifestyle. The results are discussed from the perspective of differences in the social significance of drinking and drug use and the institutionalised response in Sweden to alcohol- and drug-related problems.Read More: http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.1080/16066350290017248?journalCode=art
|
|
10. |
|
|
11. |
|
|
12. |
- Bogren, Alexandra
(author)
-
Alcohol short-circuits important part of the brain' : Swedish newspaper representations of biomedical alcohol research
- 2017
-
In: Addiction Research and Theory. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1606-6359 .- 1476-7392. ; 25:3, s. 177-187
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The media has a central role in communicating and constructing health knowledge, including communicating research findings related to alcohol consumption. However, research on news reporting about alcohol is still a relatively small field; in particular, there are few studies of the reporting of biomedical alcohol and drug research, despite the assumed increasing popularity of biomedical perspectives in public discourse in general. The present article addresses the representational `devices' used in Swedish press reporting about biomedical alcohol research, drawing on qualitative thematic analysis of the topics, metaphors, and optimist versus critical frames used in presenting biomedical research findings. In general, the press discourse focuses on genetic factors related to alcohol problems, on the role of the brain and the reward system in addiction, and on medication for treating alcohol problems. Metaphors of `reconstruction' and `reprograming' of the reward system are used to describe how the brain's function is altered in addiction, whereas metaphors of `undeserved reward' and `shortcuts' to pleasure are used to describe alcohol's effects on the brain. The study indicates that aspects of the Swedish press discourse of biomedical alcohol research invite reductionism, but that this result could be understood from the point of view of both the social organization of reporting and the intersection of reporting, science, and everyday understandings rather than from the point of view of the news articles only. Moreover, some characteristics of the media portrayals leave room for interpretation, calling for research on the meanings ascribed to metaphors of addiction in everyday interaction.
|
|
13. |
- Bogren, Alexandra, 1976-
(author)
-
‘But I’m not a doctor’ : pending trust in science among laypeople discussing the brain disease model of addiction
- 2019
-
In: Addiction Research and Theory. - : Routledge. - 1606-6359 .- 1476-7392. ; 27:4, s. 337-346
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Aim: In recent decades, the notion of addiction as a brain disease has become influential among scientists, public institutions, and addiction treatment professionals, and its popularity raises the question of how biomedical science affects public perceptions of illness. Although existing research has examined how laypeople interpret disease models of addiction, few studies address how they interpret the brain disease model as presented by the media, the version that most citizens are likely to encounter in their everyday lives. This article contributes to existing research by examining Swedish laypeople’s interpretations of a news article presenting biomedical research on addiction and analyzing how trust intervenes in their interpretations. Methods: Drawing on an audience study design with qualitative interviews, the participants were asked to read and discuss a newspaper article that explained how alcohol, amphetamine, and nicotine affect the brain. Results: The analysis shows that their interpretations depended on how they perceived their own ability to assess the science portrayed in the article. The participants trust doctors and scientists but doubt their own ability to assess the science, and trust is therefore provisional or pending until this situation changes. In addition, trust requires that the participants are able to recognize and identify with the contents of the news article. Conclusion: This pattern can be understood as a way of dealing with the contradictory expectations laypeople face–they are expected to trust scientific knowledge and to evaluate knowledge claims rationally, but they do not have access to the knowledge that would, supposedly, enable them to do so.
|
|
14. |
- Bogren, Alexandra, 1976-
(author)
-
Women's intoxication as ‘dual licentiousness’: An exploration of gendered images of drinking and intoxication in Sweden
- 2008
-
In: Addiction Research and Theory. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1606-6359 .- 1476-7392. ; 16:1, s. 95-106
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In this article, it is suggested that an important cultural image of intoxication in some Western societies appears to be 'intoxication as ecstasy', intoxication as escape from the everyday into a 'wild' and 'natural' state. The purpose of this article is to discuss this cultural image and its link to gendered ideas about sexuality and, on the basis of this discussion, to develop a hypothesis for further testing. The hypothesis developed proposes that women - via the cultural linking of their sexuality to biological processes of reproduction - are placed closer to nature than men. This makes women's drinking and intoxication seem more dangerous than men's, because drinking and intoxication would seem to make women come even closer to nature. It is suggested that women's 'dual licentiousness' threatens the distinction between nature and culture.
|
|
15. |
|
|
16. |
- Cunningham, J.A., et al.
(author)
-
Maturing Out of Drinking Problems : Perceptions of Natural History as a Function of Severity
- 2005
-
In: Addiction Research and Theory. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1058-6989 .- 1606-6359 .- 1476-7392. ; 13:1, s. 79-84
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This study tested the hypothesis that maturing out descriptions of change were more common among respondents whose drinking problems were less severe prior to reduction and that consequence driven changes were more common among those who had a lifetime diagnosis of alcohol dependence, prior to resolution. As part of a general population telephone survey, former heavy drinkers were asked their reasons for change. These responses were tape-recorded, transcribed and then coded into three categories – consequence driven reasons, drifting out reasons and reflective maturational reasons. As predicted, drifting out reasons were more often provided by those with less severe alcohol use and consequence related reasons appeared associated with respondents who had had more severe alcohol problems. The differing descriptions of pathways to change observed in natural history studies may be the result of research that captures only partial samples of the larger population of former heavy drinkers.
|
|
17. |
|
|
18. |
- Delle, Simone, et al.
(author)
-
Motives for not drinking alcohol : why adults in late middle age abstain
- 2022
-
In: Addiction Research and Theory. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1606-6359 .- 1476-7392. ; 30:2, s. 126-133
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Older individuals are not only more sensitive to the impact of alcohol but also face significant health risks from alcohol-drug interactions. To alter current drinking patterns, it is crucial to understand the motives for abstention of adults in late middle age.Objectives: We hypothesized that, for adults in late middle age, socio-demographic characteristics and health-related factors predict alcohol abstinence; and that current motives for abstention vary between subgroups of abstainers.Method: Data on adults aged 50-64 years (n = 2,308) came from the German Epidemiological Survey of Substance Abuse (ESA). Logistic regression was used to examine the association between different types of abstinence and socio-demographic and health-related variables.Results: Low income, low education and poor self-rated physical health predicted 12-month abstinence. Men with a chronic disease had a 9.5 % chance to be abstinent, whilst it was 17.7 % for women. Main motives for older lifetime abstainers were 'dislike of taste or smell', 'loss of control' and 'family constraints'. For 12-month abstainers, it was 'loss of control', 'health constraints' and 'dislike of taste or smell'.Conclusion: Poor health in middle-aged drinkers offers an opportunity to recommend reduction or cessation of alcohol use by explaining the negative health effects from alcohol. Future research investigating abstention needs to differentiate between lifetime and 12-month abstainers.
|
|
19. |
- Edman, Johan, et al.
(author)
-
Oniomaniacs : the popular framing of consumption as a disease
- 2018
-
In: Addiction Research and Theory. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1606-6359 .- 1476-7392. ; 26:6, s. 431-438
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The aim of this article is to examine the framing of excessive consumption as a disease-like condition in the Swedish press during the years 1992-2012. Against a theoretical background discussing medicalisation, we have analysed the characteristics of problematic consumption framed as a disease, as well as the presumed causes of and responses to this problem. Alongside and intertwined with a structural and a rationalisation perspective, we find discussions and explanations of problematic consumption as a disease all through the investigated period. Class and gender are noticeable components of the core problem description, but the reductionist assumption of addiction as a brain disease seems to point to a problem beyond historical and social context. The disease conceptualisation of problematic consumption can be seen as a compensatory perspective in an individualising and consumption affirming society. However, this perspective is ultimately decided by politics and not by research. Despite being a frequently occurring perspective on a conceptual level in Sweden, it is not a legitimate description in legislation or as a cause for public treatment interventions.
|
|
20. |
- Ekendahl, Mats
(author)
-
Danish heroin prescription in Swedish print media : exploring the silent agreements of harm reduction and zero tolerance
- 2012
-
In: Addiction Research and Theory. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1606-6359 .- 1476-7392. ; 20:5, s. 423-434
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Sweden's response to drug problems has long been governed by zero tolerance, as manifested by the motto 'a drug-free society' and the criminalisation of drug use. In this context, the legitimacy of methadone maintenance treatment and other interventions often depicted as harm reduction has been questioned. This highlights that solutions to drug problems are circumscribed by culture-specific ideologies and definitions of reality that are articulated in different discourses. The study aims to elucidate how Denmark's decision in 2008 to launch heroin prescription (a controversial form of maintenance treatment) was addressed in Swedish print media, and identify how key concepts such as 'heroin users' and 'treatment' were attributed with meaning. In order for the analysis to go beyond apparent differences between the discourses of harm reduction and zero tolerance, specific interest was placed in constructions that were shared by protagonists on the issue of heroin prescription. The data encompasses 29 articles (news agency announcements plus daily press) that were analysed with focus on binary oppositions and then coded thematically. Four themes were identified: 'Users as passive victims'; 'Methadone as benchmark'; 'Treatment as necessity' and 'Swedish drug policy as unique'. These themes appear as presuppositions, or silent agreements, that precede different understandings of heroin prescription in Swedish press. It is concluded that the media representations reproduced traditional constructions of heroin users as victims in need of society's help. The relevance of characterising heroin prescription as a 'new way' of handling heroin dependence problems is discussed.
|
|
21. |
- Ekendahl, Mats, 1971-
(author)
-
The limits of legitimacy : service providers’ views on maintenance treatment in Sweden
- 2011
-
In: Addiction Research and Theory. - London : Gordon and Breach. - 1058-6989 .- 1606-6359 .- 1476-7392. ; 19:5, s. 427-437
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: It is widely acknowledged that the social meaning of maintenance treatment (MT) with methadone is context-dependent and that different discourses influence how this approach to opiate addiction problems is practised. In Sweden, MT has long been ideologically controversial, even if the past decade’s emphasis on evidence-based interventions has made it more accepted and prevalent in the treatment system. MT may thus be seen as a discursive field where science and values are intertwined and impact practice jointly, which emphasises the importance of analysing how MT is attributed with meaning. Objectives: The study aims to identify and analyse the discourses that service providers in Swedish opiate addiction treatment refer to in their efforts to legitimise MT. Methods: Twenty-eight interviews focused on MTrelated issues were conducted with Swedish social workers and health care workers. The material was analysed qualitatively according to discourse theory. Findings: Three key features of MT were identified: as therapeutic intervention; as beyond harm reduction and as pragmatic solution. The respondents constructed MT as a necessary medical and psychosocial treatment aimed at rehabilitation and patients’ complete break with drug abuse, which reflects a policy-context where solutions to drug problems are supposed to be resolute, thorough and abstinence-oriented. Conclusions: The service providers handled the controversy between science and values by drawing on a decent-life discourse, where opiate addiction problems are solved with a pragmatic stance towards evidence and where only interventions that make patients’ lives allegedly decent are considered legitimate (excluding, e.g. heroin prescription and liberal methadone distribution).
|
|
22. |
- Ekendahl, Mats
(author)
-
Time to Change : an exploratory study of motivation among untreated and treated substance abusers
- 2007
-
In: Addiction Research and Theory. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1606-6359 .- 1476-7392. ; 15:3, s. 247-261
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This exploratory study examines whether the attitudes towards change and treatment of untreated non-abstinent substance abusers differ from those of patients undergoing treatment in residential care. The sample (n=97) consists of untreated, voluntarily and compulsorily treated substance abusers who completed a questionnaire in 2003. Attitudes were measured with scales on e.g. problem recognition, desire for help, treatment readiness and aspects of time perspectives, e.g. past, present and future orientation. The attitudes of the three groups -- untreated, voluntarily and compulsorily treated subjects -- differed with respect to lifestyle change. Factor analysis of the measures revealed one component of primary interest, general willingness to change. Results show that willingness to change was correlated with other attitudinal characteristics in the three groups. The stability of substance abusers’ motivation is discussed with the focus on different social contexts’ influence on change-compliant attitudes and behaviour.
|
|
23. |
- Ekman, Mats, et al.
(author)
-
The impact of earlier pub closing hours on emergency calls to the police during the COVID-19 pandemic in Sweden
- 2024
-
In: Addiction Research and Theory. - : Taylor & Francis. - 1606-6359 .- 1476-7392. ; 32:2, s. 138-142
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- On 20 November 2020, the government of Sweden banned on-premise alcohol sales after 10:30 p.m. and then after 8 p.m. on December 24. This study aims to estimate the impact of earlier pub closing hours on emergency calls to the police. We use a quasi-experimental hybrid differences-in-differences design, drawing on data for emergency calls in Sweden. The primary outcome measure is the daily number of emergency calls to the police in Sweden 70 days before the intervention and 70 days after the intervention. The primary control series is the daily number of emergency calls to the police in Sweden during the preceding year, 70 days before the intervention and 70 days after the intervention. We fail to find an effect on daily emergency calls, or nighttime emergency calls to the police, from the restrictions on the sale of alcohol. There is, however, some evidence indicating that weekend emergency calls may have been affected, but that potential effect does not translate into an overall effect. While our study is limited in its focus, it contributes to using a wide range of time windows and a large geographical area (the whole of Sweden) to inform on displacement effects, as well as in considering a broader set of robustness checks. We suggest that our results and future work should be seen in light of our limitations and our contribution, respectively.
|
|
24. |
- Forsström, David, 1981-, et al.
(author)
-
A systematic review of educational programs and consumer protection measures for gambling : an extension of previous reviews
- 2021
-
In: Addiction Research and Theory. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1606-6359 .- 1476-7392. ; 29:5, s. 398-412
-
Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Introduction: Besides supply reduction, preventive interventions to reduce harm from gambling include interventions for the reduction of demand and to limit negative consequences. Several interventions are available for gamblers, e.g. limit-setting. Reviews have been published examining the evidence for specific measures as well as evaluating the effect of different measures at an overall level. Only a few of these have used a systematic approach for their literature review. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis is twofold. First, to assess the certainty of evidence of different preventive measures in the field of educational programs and consumer protection measures, including both land-based and online gambling. The second is to present shortcomings in eligible studies to highlight what type of information is needed in future studies.Method: This systematic review included measures administered in both real-life settings and online. Twenty-eight studies fulfilled our inclusion criteria and had low or moderate risk of bias.Results: The results showed that only two measures (long term educational programs and personalized feed-back) had an impact on gambling behavior. Follow-up period was short, and measures did not include gambling as a problem. The certainty in most outcomes, according to GRADE, was very low. Several shortcomings were found in the studies.Discussion: We concluded that the support for preventive measures is low and that a consensus statement regarding execution and methods to collect and analyze data for preventive gambling research is needed. Our review can serve as a starting point for future responsible gambling reviews since it evaluated certainty of evidence.
|
|
25. |
- Gmel, G., et al.
(author)
-
Contrasting individual and aggregate studies in alcohol research? Combining them is the answer!
- 2004
-
In: Addiction Research and Theory. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1058-6989 .- 1606-6359 .- 1476-7392. ; 12:1, s. 1-10
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The reprint of Rose's (1985) seminal paper reiterated the distinction between two etiological questions: What are the causes of individual cases, and what are the causes of population incidence? The first question deals with within-population variability and the second with between-population variability, suggesting that individual level studies should be used to answer the first question and aggregate level studies to answer the second. What findings should be trusted, however, when the results from aggregate and individual level studies on the same topic diverge? One example of the divergence of findings in the alcohol field is that of studies on coronary heart disease. The overwhelming majority of individual level studies have shown the protective effect of moderate alcohol consumption for coronary heart disease, however aggregate level studies have failed to corroborate this finding. This discrepancy has been taken by some as evidence that the aggregate level disproved a causal relation at the individual level. This implies that the same hypothesis could be tested at both levels. The present editorial will reiterate the notion of Rose (1985) that both types of analyses answer different questions and cannot be expected to coincide in results.
|
|