Effects of Yoga on Physiological and Behavioral Precursors of Drug Abuse

描述(申请人提供)：这份R03提案的总体目标是进行一项形成性研究和一项小型随机对照试验(RCT)，以测试身体剧烈的瑜伽干预是否对高危青少年的药物使用及其行为、心理和心理生理前体产生有益影响。关于瑜伽在改善身体和情绪健康方面的有效性的知识基础越来越多。然而，大多数研究都是在成人中进行的，并集中在心理和生理临床结果上。瑜伽通过瞄准情绪调节和抑制控制技能的生物学过程，有可能影响药物滥用的行为前驱。到目前为止，还没有对这些脆弱性特征对瑜伽等方法的响应性进行全面检查，这些方法本质上是为了加强这些监管技能。因此，我们建议对瑜伽干预进行适应和测试，以检查这种心身运动形式如何影响药物滥用的心理、行为和心理生理基础。这项为期3年的研究的具体目标是：目标1.进行一项形成性研究，通过对现有材料进行文化和发展定制，结合当地青少年咨询委员会和专家小组、焦点小组的意见，并对课程进行预测试，来开发和预先测试体力充沛的瑜伽干预。目的2.开展一项试验性随机对照试验，以评估干预对药物滥用前体的疗效，并获得支持全面疗效试验的必要数据。我们假设，瑜伽干预将导致情绪、认知和行为调节、应对、情绪和心理生理应激反应和恢复的改善，这反过来将中介干预对药物使用、外化行为和学校表现的影响。干预材料将在第一年通过形成过程开发和预先测试。在第二年和第三年，由此产生的剧烈瑜伽干预将在高危青少年的小型随机对照试验中进行测试。从实验组(N=45)和对照组(N=45)收集干预前后多评分者(学生、教师)和多方法(调查、心理生理学、管理)的数据。将收集流程和保真度数据，以记录实施情况，并作为质量改进。对调解模式的调整将根据基线健康、既往药物使用和年龄进行。此外，我们还将探索健康水平的变化是否会缓和干预效果。这项积极的瑜伽干预应用于积极影响高危青少年，在针对与吸毒有关的关键潜在行为、心理和心理生理机制方面具有很高的创新性。结果将被合并到随后的R01应用中，作为更大规模疗效试验的初步数据。 与公共健康相关：这项研究的总体目标是适应和测试针对高危青少年的强有力的瑜伽干预，以检查这种身心锻炼形式是否是预防药物使用和滥用的可行替代方法。瑜伽技巧的这种应用将提供新的见解，以了解有意识的身体活动可能会积极地影响压力反应和韧性、自我调节、应对和其他与最终药物滥用相关的情况。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The overall aim of this R03 proposal is to conduct a formative study and a small randomized control trial (RCT) to test whether a physically vigorous yoga intervention has a beneficial impact on drug use and its behavioral, psychological, and psychophysiological precursors in high-risk adolescents. There is a growing knowledge base on the effectiveness of yoga in improving physical and emotional health. However, most studies have been conducted with adults and focused on psychological and physical clinical outcomes. Yoga has the potential to impact behavioral precursors to drug abuse by targeting biologically based processes of emotional regulation and inhibitory control skills. To date, there has been no comprehensive examination of the responsivity of these vulnerability traits to approaches such as yoga, which are by nature designed to enhance these regulatory skills. As such, we propose the adaptation and testing of a yoga intervention to examine how this mind-body form of exercise influences the psychological, behavioral, and psychophysiological substrates that underlie drug abuse. The specific aims of this 3-year study are to: Aim 1. Conduct a formative study to develop and pre-test a physically vigorous yoga intervention through cultural and developmental tailoring of existing materials with input from a local Teen Advisory Board and an Expert Panel, focus groups, and pre-testing of the curriculum. Aim 2. Conduct a pilot RCT to evaluate the efficacy of the intervention on precursors of drug abuse and obtain requisite data to support a full-scale efficacy trial. We hypothesize that the yoga intervention will lead to improved emotional, cognitive, and behavioral regulation, coping, mood, and psychophysiological stress reactivity and recovery, which, in turn, will mediate the effects of the intervention on drug use, externalizing behaviors, and school performance. Intervention materials will be developed and pre-tested through a formative process in Year 1. In Years 2 and 3, the resulting physically vigorous yoga intervention will be tested in a small RCT with high risk adolescents. Multi-rater (student, teacher) and multi-method (survey, psychophysiological, administrative) data will be collected at pre- and post-intervention from experimental (N=45) and control (N=45) groups. Process and fidelity data will be collected to document implementation and serve as a quality improvement. Adjustments to the mediation model will be made for baseline fitness, prior drug use, and age. Also, we will explore whether change in fitness level moderates intervention effects. This application of a vigorous yoga intervention to positively influence high risk youth is highly innovative in its targeting of critical underlying behavioral, psychological, and psychophysiological mechanisms shown to be related to drug use. Results will be incorporated into a subsequent R01 application as preliminary data for a larger scale efficacy trial. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The overall aim of this study is to adapt and test a vigorous yoga intervention with high-risk adolescents to examine whether this mind-body form of exercise is a viable alternative approach for prevention of drug use and abuse. This application of yoga techniques will offer new insights into ways in which mindful physical activity may positively affect stress reactivity and resilience, self regulation, coping, and other conditions associated with eventual drug abuse.