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

描述（由申请人提供）：逃学青年是解决吸毒和相关问题的重要目标群体。有效的干预可以减少他们在学校的问题行为，降低他们进入少年司法系统的风险。除了在希尔斯伯勒县少年评估中心（JAC）处理的被捕青年外，执法部门还将青年带到JAC逃学中心，因为他们逃学。有关研究，包括收集的关于少年儿童咨询委员会逃学者的资料，表明与正常上学的青年相比，逃学者在学术能力和成绩测试中的得分往往较低，与少年司法系统有接触，有家庭问题，并经历更多的药物滥用。例如，在174逃学处理在江淮逃学中心4月中旬和2005年5月26日之间谁是管理的个人经验筛选问卷，18%的得分为25至52？表明有轻度到中度的药物参与与此同时，相对较少的逃学者报告曾接受过药物滥用治疗服务（3%-根据2003-2004年逃学方案数据）。需要实施和评估旨在解决他们的药物滥用及其与父母/监护人关系的简短干预措施，以减少他们进入更严重的药物使用模式和相关问题行为的风险，包括司法系统的参与。我们建议进行为期四年的临床对照试验，涉及逃学青年（N = 300）进入坦帕JAC逃学计划和他们的父母/监护人，以评估现有的简短干预的疗效。我们将随机分配逃学的青年到三个条件之一：简短的干预-青年（BI-Y），简短的干预-青年和父母（BI-YP），或标准服务协议（STS）。具体目标是：目标1：测试BI-Y和BI-YP对逃学青少年计划后吸毒和相关行为的功效。目的2：测试父母参与BI对治疗后药物使用的相对影响。目标3：确定与显著的计划后改善（减少吸毒，犯罪行为和改善学校表现）相关的青少年和家长因素。我们假设，与对照组相比，两种BI状况将显示出更大的药物使用减少和学校表现改善，并且BI-YP组将显示出比BI-Y组更大的这些措施的改善。

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.