Brief Intervention for Drug Abusing Students

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The proposed study sets out to evaluate the efficacy of a brief, cognitive behavioral therapeutic intervention for adolescents reporting mild or moderate drug abuse. The intervention targets 225 middle and high school students. This school-based initiative employs a collaborative effort between University of Minnesota researchers and the St. Paul Public Schools. This project addresses several research areas of interest in the RFA, which include expanding the pathways to treatment for adolescents at various stages in their drug use careers, improving the preparedness of practicing treatment providers, developing strategies for practitioners and community service agencies to keep abreast of current research related to science-based treatment technologies, refining existing behavioral treatments for adolescent substance abuse, and clarifying and identifying mediators and moderators of treatment outcome. A randomized clinical trial will be employed to evaluate the efficacy of a 2-session, adolescent-focused, cognitive-behavioral intervention vs. a 2-session adolescent plus a 1-session parent intervention vs. a control, assessment-only condition. The therapeutic approach to be utilized in this study is theoretically based in stage of change theory used to coordinate modules on Rational-Emotive Therapy and Problem Solving Therapy. Specifically, this intervention aims to reduce post-treatment drug use behaviors and enhance cognitions and problem-solving skills. It is hypothesized that the two intervention groups will reveal superior outcome compared to the control group, and that receiving the intervention including the parent component will reveal superior post-treatment behaviors compared to the adolescent-only intervention group. Several mediators and moderators of intervention effects will be examined.