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

描述（由申请人提供）：逃学青少年是解决吸毒及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不良行为，降低他们进入少年司法系统的风险。除了在希尔斯伯勒县青少年评估中心（JAC）处理的被捕青少年外，执法部门还将因逃学而将青少年带到JAC逃学中心。相关研究，包括对JAC逃学者收集的信息，表明，与定期上学的青少年相比，逃学者在学业能力和成就测试中的得分往往较低，与少年司法系统有联系，有家庭问题，并且有更多的吸毒经历。例如，在2005年4月中旬至5月26日期间，在JAC逃学中心处理的174名逃学者中，他们接受了个人经历筛选问卷，其中18%的人得分为25至52？表明有轻度到中度的吸毒行为。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（根据2003-2004年逃学方案数据，为3%）。需要实施和评估旨在处理其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，包括司法系统介入。我们建议通过开展一项为期四年的临床对照试验来评估现有短期干预措施的有效性，该试验涉及坦帕JAC逃学计划的逃学青少年（N = 300）及其父母/监护人。我们将随机将逃学青少年分配到以下三种情况之一：短暂干预-仅青少年（BI-Y），短暂干预-青少年和家长（BI-YP），或标准服务协议（STS）。目的1：检验BI-Y和BI-YP对计划后逃学青少年吸毒及相关行为的影响。目的2：检验父母参与Bl对治疗后药物使用的相对影响。目标3：确定与项目后显著改善相关的青少年和家长因素（减少吸毒，犯罪行为和改善学校表现）。我们假设，与对照组相比，两种Bl条件都会显示出更大的药物使用减少和学习成绩的提高，并且BI-YP组在这些措施上比BI-Y组表现出更大的改善。

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.