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.
Building upon a successful National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)-funded R34, this study evaluates a technology-assisted parenting intervention with evidence of high feasibility and acceptability, as well as preliminary evidence of effectiveness as an adjunct to residential treatment as usual (TAU). Specifically, this study involves a fully powered evaluation of Parent SMART (Substance Misuse among Adolescents in Residential Treatment), which was developed based on extensive formative research with parents, adolescents, and residential treatment staff, and subsequently tested in a NIDA-funded pilot trial. Parent SMART was intentionally designed with scalability in mind. It consists of an off-the-shelf computer program called Parenting Wisely (PW) that has robust evidence of efficacy in improving parenting skills and reducing youth behavior problems across five clinical trials. Guided by formative research, Parent SMART augments PW with four telehealth coaching sessions and access to a state-of-the-art, mobile networking forum (available via both mobile phone app and web browser), where parents can submit questions to an expert and connect with other parents of adolescents in residential substance use treatment. Parent SMART was piloted at both short (i.e., 6-10 day length of stay) - and long-term (i.e., 30-45 day length of stay) residential facilities: the model was feasible and acceptable in both settings, and effective at improving parental monitoring and communication in both settings. In the short-term setting, Parent SMART was also effective at reducing days of substance use (i.e., days of binge drinking, days of all other drug use) and reducing school problems: the pilot project was underpowered to detect differences at the long-term setting. The current trial is a fully powered evaluation of Parent SMART as an adjunct to residential treatment as usual. Adolescent-parent dyads (n = 220; 440 participants) will be randomized to receive either residential treatment as usual (TAU) only or Parent SMART + TAU. Those randomized to TAU will be offered the technology-delivered elements of Parent SMART at the 6-month follow-up. Parent SMART telehealth sessions will be delivered by bachelor's and master's level counselors to enhance scalability. Multi-method follow-up assessments (i.e., self-report measures, videotaped interaction task, urine screens) will be conducted 6-, 12-, and 24-weeks post-discharge. The primary aims of this study is to examine the effectiveness of Parent SMART as an adjunctive treatment, relative to adolescent residential treatment-as-usual on: parenting processes (Primary Aim 1) and adolescent substance use outcomes (Primary Aim 2). A secondary aim is to test the effectiveness of Parent SMART compared to residential treatment-as-usual on adolescent high-risk behaviors. An additional Exploratory Aim will test whether change in parenting processes mediates change in adolescent substance use outcomes. Pursuit of these aims is significant given the potential to improve the outcomes of adolescents following discharge from residential substance use treatment by offering their parents a novel technology-assisted intervention. Technology-assisted interventions have the potential for marked public health impact by extending the reach, duration, and scalability of evidence-based care.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE
Enrollment
220
Parent SMART experimental intervention
Residential treatment as usual
Rosecrance Health Network
Rockford, Illinois, United States
RECRUITINGRosecrance Jackson Centers
Sioux City, Iowa, United States
COMPLETEDHazelden Betty Ford
Plymouth, Minnesota, United States
RECRUITINGChange 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 Discharge
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 Discharge
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 Discharge
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 Discharge
Change in Substance Use Problems
The Global Appraisal of Individual Needs - Core is a well-validated clinical interview used to assess adolescent substance use in a range of settings. The Substance-Related Problems Scale provides a count of substance-related problems experienced over the past 90 days. Possible values range from 0 to 11.
Time frame: Baseline to 24 Weeks Post Discharge
This platform is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional.