In October 2021, a majority of the UK gambling industry implemented a new UK safer gambling message, ‘take time to think’, which features on gambling advertising and websites. An effective safer gambling message could plausibly affect several relevant gambling behaviours, with previous research suggesting that message effectiveness is maximised via messages that are displayed prominently immediately prior to gambling. We experimentally tested this message's effect on four contemporaneous gambling behaviours (the proportion of available funds bet, clicks for help service information, the mean speed of play, and the total number of roulette spins made) in an incentivised online roulette game in a sample of UK-based online gamblers. Participants (n = 2,305) were randomly allocated to either (a) ‘no-message’ control, (b) ‘message’ shown throughout the condition or (c) a ‘message+’ condition, where the message was shown throughout and also via a popup immediately prior to the roulette game. Overall, the results showed no credible effects across the four outcome measures when comparing either of the message conditions to the no-message control. Even the prominent display of the ‘take time to think’ message did not lead to credible beneficial effects on a range of contemporaneous gambling behaviours.

Half of the people who seek treatment for Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder (OCD) do not benefit from first-line interventions. A better understanding of the factors associated with obsessions and compulsions may inform the development of more effective treatments. This study aimed to examine whether a fear of guilt is associated with obsessive–compulsive symptoms. Fear of guilt incorporates two domains: punishment (the tendency to believe that guilt means one is bad and to punish oneself for feelings of guilt) and harm prevention (the tendency to believe that guilt implies failure to be one's ideal self and the drive to prevent feelings of guilt). Online questionnaires assessing OCD symptoms, fear of guilt, and other related factors were administered to 192 adults. In contrast to previous studies, key conceptually relevant constructs, such as shame, anxiety, and depression symptoms, were also assessed. The punishment dimension of fear of guilt subscale was positively associated with OCD symptoms controlling for age, sex, guilt, shame, responsibility for harm, generalised anxiety, and depression. The punishment domain of fear of guilt may therefore be an important factor to consider and potentially target in treatments for OCD. Future investigations with clinical populations may clarify the importance of fear of guilt in OCD.