NCT01170013

Brief Summary

The earlier a child initiates alcohol and other drug (AOD) use, the greater the risk of long-range problems. This association persists despite changes in national substance use rates over time, indicating its stability and viability as a target for prevention. At the same time, parent monitoring of youth behavior tends to decrease during the adolescent years, creating a source of risk for not only the early onset of AOD use but also escalation. Thus, programs are needed in parenting behaviors and family relationships that are protective in helping pre-adolescent youth to avoid initiation of AOD use and abuse. This is particularly true of children with psychiatric disorders who are at higher risk for developing AOD disorders than nonpsychiatrically disturbed children. The primary goal of this study is to test the effectiveness of a family-centered intervention to reduce the risk of AOD use among pre-adolescent children with a history of emotional/behavioral problems. In this application, the families of 80 youths aged 12-14 years, who have not yet begun AOD use but have been referred for mental health care due to psychiatric symptomatology, will be randomly assigned to receive either an individually tailored family program or standard care. The experimental intervention, which is based on the Family Check-Up model (Dishion \& Kavanagh, 2003), provides a thorough assessment of family strengths and weaknesses as they relate to future risk for AOD use as well as emotional/behavioral problems, and utilizes principles of motivational interviewing to encourage families to change. Follow-up interviews will be conducted at 6 and 12 months after baseline to assess changes in parenting, AOD use, and other risky behaviors.

Trial Health

87
On Track

Trial Health Score

Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach

Enrollment
68

participants targeted

Target at P75+ for phase_1

Timeline
Completed

Started Aug 2008

Typical duration for phase_1

Geographic Reach
1 country

1 active site

Status
completed

Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.

Trial Relationships

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Study Timeline

Key milestones and dates

Study Start

First participant enrolled

August 1, 2008

Completed
1.8 years until next milestone

First Submitted

Initial submission to the registry

June 2, 2010

Completed
2 months until next milestone

First Posted

Study publicly available on registry

July 27, 2010

Completed
7 months until next milestone

Primary Completion

Last participant's last visit for primary outcome

March 1, 2011

Completed
9 months until next milestone

Study Completion

Last participant's last visit for all outcomes

December 1, 2011

Completed
Last Updated

July 31, 2012

Status Verified

July 1, 2012

Enrollment Period

2.6 years

First QC Date

June 2, 2010

Last Update Submit

July 28, 2012

Conditions

Keywords

substance useadolescentsinitiation

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

  • Parental monitoring/communication

    Self-report and observational ratings of parent-child interactions with respect to limit setting, communication, and monitoring

    3 months

  • Parental monitoring/communication

    Self-report and observational ratings of parent-child interactions with respect to limit setting, communication, and monitoring

    6 months

Secondary Outcomes (4)

  • marijuana use

    3 months

  • marijuana use

    6 months

  • alcohol use

    3 months

  • alcohol use

    6 months

Study Arms (2)

Family Check-up

EXPERIMENTAL

Two session motivational intervention to improve parent monitoring and communication with respect to adolescent risk behavior especially substance use

Behavioral: Family Check-up

Psychoeducation

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Two sessions of psychoeducation for parents regarding adolescent risk behaviors especially substance use

Behavioral: Parent psychoeducation

Interventions

Family Check-upBEHAVIORAL

Two session motivational intervention to improve parent monitoring and communication with respect to adolescent risk behavior especially substance use

Also known as: Parent Motivational Interviewing
Family Check-up

Two sessions of psychoeducation for parents regarding adolescent risk behaviors. especially substance use

Also known as: Family psychoeducation
Psychoeducation

Eligibility Criteria

Age12 Years - 16 Years
Sexall
Healthy VolunteersNo
Age GroupsChild (0-17)

You may qualify if:

  • the target child is between the ages of 12-14 years old at the start of the project and living at home with at least one parent/guardian
  • the target child must be receiving services at a mental health clinic and must screen in with a t- score of 70 or above on one of the DSM-oriented scales (ADHD, ODD, CD, anxiety problems, and affective problems) on the Child Behavior Checklist (i.e. reach the clinical cut-off)
  • the child must not report prior AOD use, and
  • parental consent and child assent are obtained.

You may not qualify if:

  • the target child is actively psychotic, and
  • the family is not able to speak and understand English or Spanish well enough to complete study procedures.

Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Study Sites (1)

Brown University

Providence, Rhode Island, 02912, United States

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Substance-Related Disorders

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Chemically-Induced DisordersMental Disorders

Study Officials

  • Anthony Spirito, PhD

    Brown University

    PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

Study Type
interventional
Phase
phase 1
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Masking
SINGLE
Who Masked
OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
Purpose
PREVENTION
Intervention Model
PARALLEL
Sponsor Type
OTHER
Responsible Party
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
PI Title
Professor

Study Record Dates

First Submitted

June 2, 2010

First Posted

July 27, 2010

Study Start

August 1, 2008

Primary Completion

March 1, 2011

Study Completion

December 1, 2011

Last Updated

July 31, 2012

Record last verified: 2012-07

Locations