Current Projects

An exploratory study of the connections between problem gambling and mental health and illness in Nova Scotia
The Canadian Mental Health Association, Nova Scotia Division, received a NSGF grant to explore the extent to which problem gambling is experienced by those struggling with mental health issues.

Create and Discover! Leisure Alternatives through community arts for at-risk or problem gamblers in HRM
The Nova Scotia Sea School will launch a three-month pilot program to engage at-risk and problem gamblers in alternative leisure opportunities in art. A partnership with Addictions Services, the project provides participants with the tools, experience, and community connections they need to develop concrete leisure activities to replace or mitigate their gambling addiction or risk factors.

Exploring Problem Gambling in African Nova Scotian Communities: Creating Awareness and Making Connections
The Nova Scotia Association of Black Social Workers received a NSGF grant to explore the extent of problem gambling among African Nova Scotia adults, youth and seniors, and to identify the African Nova Scotia community’s priorities around the issue of problem gambling.The grant will also help fund Linking Borders, an International Conference for Social Workers of African Descent.

Gambling with Main Street
Phase One of a grant to GameOverVLTs.com Society, Gambling with Main Street, will assist with the development of building partnerships and four public presentations on gambling to help engage small businesses, service groups and community groups across Nova Scotia.

Gambling- Understanding Makes Us Stronger
The Kings County Branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association, in consultation with Acadia University and Audrey Shields, Clinical Therapist with Addiction Services at Annapolis Valley District Health Authority, will develop four workshops. The topic of each workshop will be based on interest as determined by a public needs determination assessment questionnaire.

Let’s Talk Gambling/Parlons des problèmes de jeu
The L’Association Radio Clare will use a NSGF grant to pilot a project which will consist of six radio shows. The shows will air one hour each month and focus on problem gambling issues and prevention.

Seniors and Gambling
Community Links, a provincial organization that promotes healthy communities and quality of life for Nova Scotia seniors, received a NSGF grant to explore gambling as an issue for Nova Scotia seniors.

Community Projects II Grants

Community-Based Training and Peer Support Approaches to Implementing the Women in Recovery from Addictions Retreat
The Tatamagouche Centre will continue to develop and deliver the Women in Recovery from Addictions Recovery (WRAP) retreat series in partnership with Tri-district Addiction Services. The program will work to develop a best practice training program that can be used by other service providers throughout the province.

Get Your Game On
Addiction Services at the South West District Health Authority are re-offering a youth-oriented school program called “Get Your Game On.” This youth gambling event helps dispel myths, challenge misperceptions, provide accurate information and improve a student’s ability make critical decisions about their gambling behaviour.

High Stakes
The Addiction Services branch of the Colchester East Hants Health Authority will use their NSGF grant to develop a series of specifically-designed therapeutic intervention tools for youth at risk and/or those already harmfully involved with gambling and other substances. This adventure-based program will target youth aged 13 to 20 years of age.

I am a Woman and Have I Got a Story to Tell!
The Tri County Women’s Center will re-offer the program "I’m a Woman and Gave I got a Story to Tell" for women in Yarmouth and surrounding areas that are affected by problem gambling. This innovative program utilizes creative writing and visual art to develop the participants’ confidence in self-expression.

Problem Gambling - Let's Deal with It
Pictou Landing First Nations is taking steps to break the silence that traditionally surrounds the issue of gambling. Their project, launched in conjunction with Addiction services and the Pictou Landing Women's Center, aims to develop and deliver culturally appropriate community-based programs to assist individuals and families in their recovery.

Women in Recovery from Addictions Retreat Series
The Tatamagouche Centre will use a NSGF grant to help fund a retreat series for women in recovery from gambling addictions. The program will be documented and evaluated so it can then be shared with other Nova Scotia organizations serving women with gambling addictions.

Research Grants

Investigation of the Reward Mechanisms Involved in Pathological Gambling - Alcohol Use Disorder Comorbidity, 2008
Drs. Sherry Stewart and Sean Barrett of Dalhousie University received a research grant to investigate how drinking alcohol affects the behavior of problem and non problem gamblers. This study is especially relevant in Nova Scotia, where video lottery terminals (VLTs) are found only in licensed establishments.

Phase III: Canadian Adolescent Gambling Inventory
Interprovincial Collaboration

The Effects of Nicotine and Smoking on VLT Gambling Behaviour
In partnership with the Nova Scotia Health Research Foundation, Dalhousie University received a research grant from NSGF to explore the effects of nicotine and smoking on the propensity to gamble using video lottery terminals (VLTs).

The Role of Selective Exposure and Subsequent Information Processing in Health Behaviours
Saint Mary's University received a research grant to develop strategies for enhancing the efficacy of health campaigns targeted at the prevention of and/or seeking out of treatment for problem gambling. The research seeks to understand what leads individuals to attend to new information, and how to eliminate the human tendency to seek out supportive information and avoid contradictory information.

Research Studentship and Scholarship Program

An Investigation of Gender Differences in Gambling Motives in Undergraduate Students
Sabrina Demetrioff, a Doctoral candidate in Clinical Psychology at Dalhousie University, has been awarded a research scholarship. Demetrioff will examine gender differences in gambling motivations among undergraduate students, and explore the disparity in gambling motivations between problem and non-problem gamblers.

Personality Characteristics, Motivations for Gambling, and Substance Use Risk among Young Internet Gamblers in Nova Scotia
Daniel McGrath, a Doctoral candidate in Experimental Psychology at Dalhousie University, will examine the personality characteristics and behaviours that are associated with youth Internet gambling, and investigate the extent to which Internet gambling is related to gambling severity and substance use among young gamblers.

Women Living with Gambling Problems
Shaughney Aston, a clinical therapist with Addiction Services at Annapolis Valley Health and an instructor at Acadia University, has been awarded a research scholarship. As part of her doctoral thesis, Aston will investigate the effects of gender and rural location in the everyday lives of women with gambling problems in rural Nova Scotia.