Parent SMART (Substance Misuse in Adolescents in Residential Treatment)
Trial statusRecruiting
Trial phaseNot applicable
Trial typeInterventional
Biological sexAll
Age12-18
SponsorBrown University
About this trial
Adolescents in residential substance use treatment have serious substance-related problems and poor outcomes following discharge: follow-up studies indicate that 60% of adolescents treated in residential treatment will relapse within the first 90 days. Parenting practices have been established as a critical predictor of adolescents' substance use outcomes and likelihood of relapse following treatments, but parents are notoriously difficult to engage in adolescent substance use treatment. Findings such as these provide strong justification for targeting parents of adolescents in residential substance use treatment via easily accessible interventions.
This study tests the effectiveness of a technology-assisted parenting intervention called Parent SMART (Substance Misuse among Adolescents in Residential Treatment). The intervention combines an off-the-shelf computer program that teaches parenting skills called Parenting Wisely, four telehealth coaching sessions, and a networking forum that allows parents to connect with a clinical expert and with other parents. The investigators will compare adolescents who receive standard residential substance use treatment to adolescents who receive the same treatment plus whose parents receive Parent SMART. Investigators will test the comparative effectiveness of Parent SMART versus residential treatment as usual on parental monitoring and communication, adolescent substance use (i.e., days of substance use and substance-related problems), and substance-related high-risk behaviors (i.e., school-related problems, criminal involvement, externalizing behavior). The investigators will also test whether improvements in parenting partially mediate any observed changes in adolescent substance use and other high-risk behaviors.
Eligibility criteria
This trial does not accept healthy volunteersQualifiers
admitted to residential treatment due to concerns about frequency and/or severity of substance use
report alcohol and/or drug use in the past 90 days
be discharged to live with primary guardian
fluent in English or Spanish
Disqualifiers
does not report alcohol or drug use in the past 90 days
discharge plan does not include living with primary guardian
not fluent in English or Spanish
not willing or able to complete baseline interview
Trial design
Design model
Parallel
Treatments tested in this trial
Parent SMART
BehavioralParent SMART experimental intervention
Treatment as Usual
BehavioralResidential treatment as usual
Treatment groups
220 Participants
are divided into 2 treatment groupsGroup A: Parent SMARTExperimental treatment 1 intervention
Group B: Treatment as UsualActive comparator 1 intervention
Trial outcomes
Primary outcomes
1
Change in Parental Monitoring
The Parental Monitoring Questionnaire (PMQ), a parent-report and adolescent-report measure, will be used to assess dimensions of parental monitoring. It has three subscales: Child Disclosure, Parent Solicitation, and Parental Control.
Time frame
Baseline to 24 Weeks Post Discharge2
Change in Parental Communication
The Parent-Adolescent Communication Scale (PCAS), a parent-report and adolescent-report measure, will be used to assess dimensions of parental monitoring. It has two subscales: General Communication and Problems with Communication.
Time frame
Baseline to 24 Weeks Post Discharge3
Change in Family Assessment Task Interaction Ratings
The Family Assessment Task, a video-taped family problem solving task will be used to provide an in vivo assessment of parenting behavior. Three tasks provide data on monitoring and communication: Limit Setting, Substance Use Norms, and Monitoring and Listening. Tapes will be coded by two raters blind to condition.
Time frame
Baseline to 24 Weeks Post Discharge4
Change in Proportion of Days Used Over the Past 90 Days Outside of a Controlled Environment
The Global Appraisal of Individual Needs - Core is a well-validated clinical interview used to assess adolescent substance use in a range of settings. Substance consumption information is collected using a calendar format with temporal cues (e.g., holidays) to assist in recall of days when alcohol and other drugs were used. Possible number of days range from 0 to 90. Values are adjusted to reflect the percent of days used outside of controlled environment, with final values ranging from 0 to 100%.
Time frame
Baseline to 24 Weeks Post DischargeSponsors and contacts
Click on the lead sponsor to view all of their trials.
Brown University
Lead sponsor
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
Collaborator
Northwestern University
Collaborator
Source ClinicalTrials.gov