Integrative Risk Reduction and Treatment for Teen Substance Use Problems and PTSD
Condition: PTSD; Alcohol Use Disorders; Substance Use Disorders
MeSH terms: Substance-Related Disorders; Alcoholism
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      Adolescents receiving RRFT and their caregivers will report significantly fewer substance use
      problems (quantity of use, frequency of use, and abuse symptoms) during treatment and
      follow-up than control adolescents who receive Treatment as Usual (TAU). Adolescents
      receiving RRFT and their caregivers will report improvement in empirically-demonstrated risk
      and protective factors for substance use and abuse at the individual level (e.g., coping) and
      at each level of an adolescent's ecology (e.g., increased number of positive family
      activities, reduced family conflict, reduced number of peers who use drugs, improved school
      attendance, increased involvement in pro-social community activities) during treatment and
      follow-up than control adolescents who receive TAU. Adolescents receiving RRFT will
      experience less PTSD symptoms (per youth and caregiver reports) during treatment and
      follow-up than control adolescents who receive TAU. Adolescents receiving RRFT will report
      engaging in fewer risky sexual behaviors (e.g., increased condom use, fewer partners) during
      treatment and follow-up than control adolescents who receive TAU. Changes during treatment in
      family relations (familial cohesiveness and conflict, satisfaction with caregiver-youth
      relationship) and parenting practices (monitoring) will mediate changes in substance use.
      Changes during treatment in emotional reactivity will mediate changes in PTSD symptoms.
    

Detailed description: 
      See above.
    

Intervention name(s): Risk Reduction through Family Therapy; Treatment as Usual
Intervention type(s): Behavioral; Behavioral
Intervention description(s): RRFT is an integrative, ecologically-based approach to risk reduction and treatment. A Stage 1a feasibility trial and a Stage 1b pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) evaluating RRFT have been completed. This Stage 1 work has resulted in a treatment manual, a clinician training protocol, and a quality assurance system. Preliminary findings from these studies are promising, indicating that RRFT can be readily learned and implemented with fidelity, and that it can lead to improvements in drug use and drug use-related risk and protective factors, PTSD symptoms, and risky sexual behaviors.; Participants assigned to the TAU condition will receive the standard treatment that a CSA victim would typically receive at community advocacy centers. In addition to treatment that is typically offered at the CACs, this will include a referral for substance abuse evaluation and may include referrals to other agencies in the community. TAU has been utilized as a comparison condition for several behavioral treatment evaluations involving adolescent substance abuse.
Other intervention name(s): RRFT; TAU
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Double (Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
Primary purpose: Treatment