Brief Intervention for Drug Use and HIV/STD Risk Prev. Among Truants

描述(由申请者提供)：逃学的青少年是解决吸毒和相关问题的重要目标群体。有效的干预可能会减少他们在学校的问题行为，降低他们进入青少年司法系统的风险。除了在希尔斯伯勒县青少年评估中心(JAC)处理的被捕青少年外，执法部门还将青少年带到JAC逃学中心，因为他们逃学了。相关研究，包括收集到的有关JAC逃学的信息表明，与定期上学的青少年相比，逃学的青少年在学习能力和成绩测试中的得分往往较低，与青少年司法系统有接触，有家庭问题，并且经历更多的药物滥用。例如，在2005年4月中旬至5月26日期间在JAC逃学中心接受个人经历筛选问卷调查的174名逃课者中，18%的人得分在25到52分之间，这表明他们与毒品有关。与此同时，报告曾接受过药物滥用治疗服务的逃学者相对较少(3%--基于2003-2004年逃学计划的数据)。需要实施和评估旨在解决他们滥用药物及其与父母/监护人关系的简短干预措施，以减少他们陷入更严重的吸毒模式和相关问题行为--包括司法系统参与--的风险。我们建议通过对参加Tampa JAC逃学计划的逃学青少年(N=300)及其父母/监护人进行为期四年的临床对照试验来评估现有短期干预的有效性。我们将随机将逃学的青少年分为三种情况之一：短期干预-仅限青少年(BI-Y)、短期干预-青少年和家长(BI-YP)或标准服务协议(STS)。具体目标为：目的1：检验BI-Y和BI-YP对逃学青少年课后药物使用及相关行为的影响。目的2：检验父母参与精神分裂症对治疗后药物使用的相对影响。目标3：确定与计划后显著改善相关的青年和家长因素(减少吸毒、犯罪行为和学校成绩的改善)。我们假设，与控制组相比，BI-YP组和BI-Y组在药物使用和学习成绩方面都有更大的改善，BI-YP组在这些指标上的改善也比BI-Y组更大。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Truant youths represent an important target group for addressing drug use and related problems. Effective interventions may reduce their troubled behavior in school and lower their risk for moving into the juvenile justice system. In addition to arrested youths who are processed at the Hillsborough County, Juvenile Assessment Center (JAC), youths are brought to the JAC Truancy Center by law enforcement because they have been truant from school. Relevant research, including information collected on JAC truants, indicates that, compared to youths who regularly attend school, truants often score lower on academic ability and achievement tests, have contact with the juvenile justice system, have family problems, and experience more drug abuse. For example, among 174 truants processed at the JAC Truancy Center between mid-April and May 26, 2005 who were administered the Personal Experience Screening Questionnaire, 18% scored 25 to 52?indicating mild to moderate drug involvement. At the same time, relatively few truants report ever receiving drug abuse treatment services (3%-based on 2003-2004 truancy program data). Implementing and evaluating brief interventions, designed to address their drug abuse and their relationships with their parents/guardians, are needed to reduce their risk of moving into more serious patterns of drug use and associated troubled behavior-including justice system involvement. We propose to assess the efficacy of an existing brief intervention by conducting a four year, clinical controlled trial involving truant youths (N = 300) entering the Tampa JAC truancy program and their parents/guardians. We will randomly assign truant youth to one of three conditions: brief intervention-youth only (BI-Y), brief intervention-youth and parent (BI-YP), or standard services protocol (STS). Specific Aims are: AIM 1: Test the efficacy of BI-Y and BI-YP on post- program drug use and related behaviors for truant youth. AIM 2: Test the relative effects of parental involvement in the Bl on post-treatment drug use. AIM 3: Identify youth and parent factors that are associated with significant post-program improvement (reductions in drug use, delinquent behavior and improvement in school performance). We hypothesize that both Bl conditions will show greater reductions in drug use and improved school performance compared with the control group, and the BI-YP group will show greater improvement on these measures than the BI-Y group.