The regional interdepartmental methodological bridge "Gambling addiction in adolescents: the relevance of the problem, solutions" on the prevention of gambling addiction in minors, suicidal manifestations was held on April 11 in the Mogilev Regional Center for Creativity. It was attended by representatives of the prosecutor's office of the Mogilev region, the commission on juvenile affairs, the healthcare system, internal affairs bodies and other subjects of prevention. Heads of district and city methodological associations of educational psychologists, deputy directors for educational and educational work of institutions of general secondary, vocational education, boarding schools, educational psychologists of educational institutions of regional subordination were invited to participate in it.
As Irina Kuskova , Deputy Head of the Main Department for Education of the Mogoblispolkom, noted , the purpose of the event is to focus attention on the identified problem and find ways to solve it in the format of a lively dialogue with the audience:
“Special attention is paid to the prevention of gambling in adolescents, as a result of which they sometimes make rash decisions. Being fond of computer games, children do not realize that this is a problem, they consider it their hobby. We are sure that this does not delay them and they can refuse at any time. The survey showed that 25% of respondents consider gambling their hobby, 40% had a mild degree of addiction, and 11% had a severe one.
And this problem arises, unfortunately, already in primary and secondary school age. Therefore, today we have gathered such a serious audience both in terms of scale and significance. We invited experts who work with this topic and are able to professionally convey information on how to recognize addiction at the initial stage, where to go, what methods of working with children to use and, which is very important, how to organize work with parents. This is our top priority."
In turn, Natalya Ignatenko, Deputy Chairman of the Commission on Juvenile Affairs of the Mogilev Oblast Executive Committee, focused on the fact that, unfortunately, suicide is a critical outcome of gambling addiction.
“Today it was not only about the uncontrollable craving for games. The problem leads deeper, it happens that we lose children. Therefore, our task is to save them from such a finale. Children cannot cope with adult problems - debts, inability to explain themselves, to ask for help. This is a whole complex, which then results in the fact that the child makes an impulsive decision to die. Of course, this is a critical situation. Many children experience the situation internally, this also leads to psychological trauma. Using such examples, we want to show that there should always be, first of all, parents who will save them and save them from trouble.
The guys start, it would seem, just to play, then they are attracted by the opportunity to earn money, then excitement is connected, followed by an unwillingness to feel like outsiders.
This phenomenon is still quite new for us. But we note the growing fascination with children's games and realize that the only way to avoid the consequences is by taking preventive measures.”
The psychotherapist of the Mogilev Regional Psychiatric Hospital Veronika Bubnova noted that the essence of all addictions is the same - an obsessive need to perform some action, which entails a violation of physical, mental and social well-being.
“In this case, it is the need for the game. Experiencing euphoria from this activity, a person ceases to adequately perceive reality. Only the game brings joy and energy. And this is not a harmless hobby - after 12 months of such a continuous state, an appropriate diagnosis is established. If the consequences inflicted on health are pronounced, then earlier.
From the audience, the specialist actively received questions about what features can be used to distinguish addiction from a harmless pastime, which institutions and which specialists can be contacted by the legal representatives of the child when such signs are identified, whether assistance is provided anonymously, they were interested in the possibility of inviting specialists from healthcare institutions for preventive conversations and other nuances of working with students and their parents.
Candidate of Psychological Sciences, Associate Professor of the Department of Pedagogy and Psychology of the Mogilev State Institute for the Development of Education Valentina Avramenko told the audience about the psychological background of gambling addiction and its possible causes .
“All assistance options should come from the answer to the question “Why?”. Why, out of all the variety of life, the child chose the game. Age, family, relationships, friends, class status, academic performance, and many other factors are important here. They can be a trigger for such behavior and immersion in the virtual world. There are many studies on this topic. If we talk about aspects of family education, then when problems are identified, a lack of attention, warmth, an authoritarian approach to education and strict control by parents are often noted.
Mass passion for games begins closer to adolescence. If the attention of kids can be switched, they react to prohibitions, then teenagers with their sense of adulthood, which is often suppressed in the family, find an outlet in games. This is compensation for what the child does not receive. Therefore, it is important for parents to accept the child, be interested in his hobbies. But do not turn communication into an interrogation, but try to understand, to understand.
And teachers, first of all, should be indifferent and strive to establish contact with everyone, at the same time uniting the whole class, not singling out or opposing anyone.
Denis Khmelkov, Deputy Head of the Department for Supervision of the Execution of Legislation on Minors and Youth of the Prosecutor’s Office of the Mogilev Region Denis Khmelkov , answering questions from the audience about the responsibility of parents for the development of a gambling addiction in a minor, said that it is not provided for by law, but the broken life of a child is much more serious punishment.
“Speaking of gambling establishments, I would like to note that despite the fact that there are many of them (14 in Mogilev, 5 in Bobruisk), they do not play the main role in the formation of addiction,” he stressed. - Over the past 5 years, we have not registered a single serious incident involving minors related to the work of such establishments. First of all, all this threat comes from the Internet: social networks, websites. The last two deaths of children in our region were directly related to the fact that the guys were fond of playing games via the Internet.
More attention should be directed to working with parents. It is important that there is trust and interaction in the family. It is necessary to be interested with whom the child communicates, what he is fond of, what sites he visits. Spend more time with children, strengthen relationships through joint activities and activities, be interested in their opinion.
The Internet today is both an enemy and a helper. You can't do without it anymore. But children need to be taught how to use it correctly.”
Dmitry Parkov, head of the law enforcement and prevention department of the Internal Affairs Directorate of the Mogoblispolkom, thanked the teachers for their work with children and interaction with the juvenile inspectorate . He noted that with the development of technology, problems also come, one of which is gambling addiction among minors:
“Minors find it possible, with the help of older mates or otherwise, to gain access to online casinos, for example, to bet on sports, and other games for which there is a reward. At the initial stage, there is euphoria from winning, somewhere parents support - earned, spent on the right things. But the consequences are then irreversible, no amount of money will return a son or daughter.”
The participants of the meeting were also shown a video with the story of a mother who faced a tragedy and lost her son because of her passion for games. The woman learned about the problems and debts of her child only from his last note.
The organizers of the event moved away from the lecture format in order to get feedback. An open microphone worked in the hall and everyone had the opportunity to speak or ask a question. Questions were also sent to the experts in the form of notes. As a result of the meeting, as was announced during the event, a corresponding section will appear on the website of the regional socio-pedagogical center, where methods will be collected and an algorithm of actions to solve the problem of gambling addiction, if it is detected, will be prescribed.
