Improving Outcomes of Adolescents in Residential Substance Use Treatment Via a Technology-Assisted Parenting Intervention
Brown University
Summary
Adolescents in residential substance use treatment have serious substance-related problems and poor outcomes following discharge: follow-up studies indicate that 60% of adolescents treated in residential treatment will relapse within the first 90 days. Parenting practices have been established as a critical predictor of adolescents' substance use outcomes and likelihood of relapse following treatments, but parents are notoriously difficult to engage in adolescent substance use treatment. Findings such as these provide strong justification for targeting parents of adolescents in residential substance use treatment via easily accessible interventions. This study tests the effectiveness of a technology-assisted parenting intervention called Parent SMART (Substance Misuse among Adolescents in Residential Treatment). The intervention combines an off-the-shelf computer program that teaches parenting skills called Parenting Wisely, four telehealth coaching sessions, and a networking forum that allows parents to connect with a clinical expert and with other parents. The investigators will compare adolescents who receive standard residential substance use treatment to adolescents who receive the same treatment plus whose parents receive Parent SMART. Investigators will test the comparative effectiveness of Parent SMART versus residential treatment as usual on parental monitoring and communication, adolescent substance use (i.e., days of substance use and substance-related problems), and substance-related high-risk behaviors (i.e., school-related problems, criminal involvement, externalizing behavior). The investigators will also test whether improvements in parenting partially mediate any observed changes in adolescent substance use and other high-risk behaviors.
Description
Building upon a successful National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)-funded R34, this study evaluates a technology-assisted parenting intervention with evidence of high feasibility and acceptability, as well as preliminary evidence of effectiveness as an adjunct to residential treatment as usual (TAU). Specifically, this study involves a fully powered evaluation of Parent SMART (Substance Misuse among Adolescents in Residential Treatment), which was developed based on extensive formative research with parents, adolescents, and residential treatment staff, and subsequently tested in a NIDA-funded…
Eligibility
- Age range
- 12–18 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- No
Inclusion Criteria for Adolescents: * admitted to residential treatment due to concerns about frequency and/or severity of substance use * report alcohol and/or drug use in the past 90 days * be discharged to live with primary guardian * fluent in English or Spanish * willing and able to participate in a 2 hour interview prior to discharge from residential Exclusion Criteria for Adolescents: * does not report alcohol or drug use in the past 90 days * discharge plan does not include living with primary guardian * not fluent in English or Spanish * not willing or able to complete baseline int…
Interventions
- BehavioralParent SMART
Parent SMART experimental intervention
- BehavioralTreatment as Usual
Residential treatment as usual
Locations (3)
- Rosecrance Health NetworkRockford, Illinois
- Rosecrance Jackson CentersSioux City, Iowa
- Hazelden Betty FordPlymouth, Minnesota