The Impact of Psychopathic Traits on the Efficacy of a Substance Use Intervention

NCT01532934 | Completed Phase 2 Results DMC

• 2 other identifiers: 28780K23DA027720
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 105
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Substance use among criminal offenders constitutes a major public health problem and is tied to negative consequences for offenders, their families, and their communities. One of the direst of these consequences is repeated incarceration; thus, interventions that reduce criminal recidivism are needed. Forensic populations are often viewed with considerable therapeutic pessimism. However, offenders exhibit heterogeneity in personality traits, and the assessment of individual differences among offenders may provide valuable information that guides the use of psychotherapeutic interventions. Among offenders, psychopathy has emerged as an important personality construct for the understanding of violence and criminal recidivism. Moreover, core traits of psychopathy such as lack of empathy, deceitfulness, and lack of remorse may have negative implications for the efficacy of psychosocial interventions. A foundational premise of the present work is that understanding the moderating role of psychopathic traits on substance use treatment outcomes among offenders is essential to determining what works, and for whom. The current proposal is a Phase II randomized clinical trial that aims to examine the impact of psychopathic traits on the efficacy of a brief substance use intervention for offenders in a jail diversion program. Hypotheses that will be examined include: 1) that a Motivational Interviewing (MI) - based treatment will reduce substance use and related consequences relative to a Standard Care only condition, 2) that the reduction in substance use in the intervention group will mediate a reduction in later criminal recidivism relative to the Standard Care condition, and 3) that core psychopathic traits will moderate the efficacy of the intervention such that individuals with lower levels of these traits will derive greater benefits with regard to decreased substance use, decreased drug use consequences, and decreased criminal recidivism at a one-year follow-up.

Conditions

Substance Use; Psychopathy

Keywords

substance use; psychopathy; motivational enhancement; criminal recidivism

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Percent Days Abstinent Per Month From Drug Use

  Using timeline followback data, frequency of substance use was assessed for months three through six and presented as average percent days abstinent per month.

  three to six months post baseline

Secondary Outcomes (2)

• Shortened Inventory of Problems With Alcohol and Drugs (SIP-AD)

  six months

• New Criminal Charge

  one year

Study Arms (2)

brief therapy

EXPERIMENTAL

motivational enhancement therapy for substance use

Behavioral: motivational enhancement therapy

Standard Care

PLACEBO COMPARATOR

standard care

Other: standard care

Interventions

motivational enhancement therapy BEHAVIORAL

Four 45-minute MET sessions

Also known as: SBIRT; brief motivational intervention

brief therapy

standard care OTHER

Standard Care

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• In local pretrial services program; English speaking

You may not qualify if:

• Psychosis, inability to provide informed consent

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Rochester: lead
• National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA): collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Pretrial Services, Inc.

Rochester, New York, 14642, United States

Location

Related Publications (1)

• Swogger MT, Conner KR, Caine ED, Trabold N, Parkhurst MN, Prothero LM, Maisto SA. A test of core psychopathic traits as a moderator of the efficacy of a brief motivational intervention for substance-using offenders. J Consult Clin Psychol. 2016 Mar;84(3):248-58. doi: 10.1037/ccp0000065. Epub 2016 Jan 4.

  PMID: 26727409 RESULT

Related Links

• PI web page

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Substance-Related Disorders; Antisocial Personality Disorder; Recidivism

Interventions

Motivational Interviewing; Standard of Care

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Chemically-Induced Disorders; Mental Disorders; Personality Disorders; Criminal Behavior; Behavior

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Directive Counseling; Counseling; Mental Health Services; Behavioral Disciplines and Activities; Health Services; Health Care Facilities Workforce and Services; Quality Indicators, Health Care; Quality of Health Care; Health Services Administration; Health Care Quality, Access, and Evaluation

Results Point of Contact

• Title: Marc T. Swogger, Ph.D.
• Organization: University of Rochester

marc_swogger@urmc.rochester.edu

585-275-7418

Study Officials

• Marc T. Swogger, Ph.D.

  University of Rochester

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Publication Agreements

• PI is Sponsor Employee: Yes

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: phase 2
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: INVESTIGATOR
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Assistant Professor

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: January 31, 2012
• First Posted: February 15, 2012
• Study Start: August 1, 2009
• Primary Completion: July 1, 2014
• Study Completion: July 1, 2014
• Last Updated: December 12, 2016
• Results First Posted: December 12, 2016

Record last verified: 2016-10

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (1)