Teaching Youth & Families Self-Regulation Skills to Disrupt the Impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences: Preventing Substance Use in Adversity- Impacted Youth
University of California, Irvine
Summary
The goal of this 2-arm randomized control trial is to determine the impact of a community health worker delivered coaching intervention, GRIT, on preventing the early initiation of regular use of alcohol and cannabis among adversity-impacted adolescents ages 11-14 who do not regularly use alcohol or cannabis at baseline. The specific aims include: * Aim 1. Examine the effect of GRIT on preventing the early initiation of regular alcohol and cannabis use over time. * Aim 2. Examine the role of youth and caregiver self-regulation in mediating the effect of GRIT on adolescent rates of alcohol and cannabis use. Researchers will compare participants who are randomized to the GRIT intervention to an active control group, receiving a Digital Citizenship Curriculum, to see if those who participate in GRIT experience greater improvements in self-regulation and lower cardiometabolic risks. Participants will: * Be randomized to either receive the GRIT intervention (experimental group) or the Digital Citizenship Curriculum (active control group) * Complete 3 in-person visits at baseline, post-intervention, and 12-month post intervention * Complete HRV assessments using emWave Pro Plus and survey assessments on REDCap during in-person visits. * Participate in six 60-minute sessions conducted over 8 weeks via Zoom with an assigned community-health worker * Be invited to complete a booster session at 6-months post-intervention * Complete online measures at baseline, post-intervention, 6-month, and 12-month post-intervention
Description
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) constitute a serious public health issue, impacting almost half of adolescents and over 60% of adults in the United States. High ACEs exposure (i.e., four or more ACEs) may result in self-dysregulation (i.e., challenges managing cognitions, emotions, and behaviors) and lead to early initiation of alcohol and substance use (e.g., self-medication hypothesis) and other biopsychosocial responses, such as cardiometabolic risks (e.g., lowered heart rate variability \[HRV\], increased weight and blood pressure, and sleep disturbance), and emotional and/or cognitiv…
Eligibility
- Age range
- 11–14 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Yes
Inclusion Criteria: * Youth ages 11-14 years who score in the High-Risk category (i.e., 4 or more ACEs) on the ACEs and Toxic Stress Risk Assessment Algorithm * Has access to a smartphone and is willing to download applicable apps (95% of all adolescents have access to a smartphone) * Youth who are able to speak and read in English * Has a parent/guardian/primary caregiver (18 years or older) who is English- or Spanish-speaking and willing to participate in the intervention. Exclusion Criteria: * Youth who cannot speak and read in English * Youth who report any alcohol or cannabis use withi…
Interventions
- BehavioralGarnering Resilience in Traumatized youth and families (GRIT)
Dyads randomly assigned to Garnering Resilience in Traumatized youth and families (GRIT) will receive a community health worker delivered psychoeducational intervention that includes 6 weekly sessions focused on: 1) supportive health coaching to garner resilience via psychoeducation and the promotion of buffering protective factors in both youth and caregivers and 2) facilitating self-regulation using heart rate variability (HRV) biofeedback.
- BehavioralDigital Citizenship Curriculum (DCC)
Dyads randomly assigned to DCC will receive a community health worker-delivered, school grade-specific intervention that includes 6 weekly sessions focused on helping youth navigate the complexities of living in a digital world.
Location
- The Regents of the University of California, IrvineIrvine, California