Adolescents With Substance Use Disorders Transitioning From Residential Treatment to the Community: Improving Outcomes Via a Computer Assisted Parenting Program

Detailed Summary

Adolescents with substance use disorders (ASUD) in residential treatment have the most serious substance use disorders and the highest rates of psychological, motivational, behavioral, legal, environmental, and vocational problems. ASUD in residential treatment are also at high risk of relapse, with follow-up studies suggesting that 60% of ASUD will relapse within 90 days of discharge. Parenting practices have been established as a key influence on adolescents' initiation and maintenance of substance use, as well as their substance use outcomes and likelihood of relapse. However, therapists who treat ASUD have reported a myriad of systemic barriers to engaging parents in treatment. Findings such as these deem ASUD in residential treatment a high priority population and argue for the value of easily accessible parenting interventions during this critical time. The proposed study evaluates a low cost, low intensity model for delivering parenting skills to parents preparing for their adolescent's discharge from residential substance use (SU) treatment. Specifically, this project involves adapting the delivery of a computerized parenting intervention (Parenting Wisely; PW) that has preliminary evidence of efficacy in improving parenting skills and reducing youth behavior problems. This study adapts the delivery of PW for a new population (parents of ASUD) and new setting (residential treatment), and obtains initial data on its feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness. As a first step, an open trial with 10 parents was conducted to develop and pilot an adapted version of PW that included moderate engagement strategies: in-person coaching sessions, daily text messages containing reminders of parenting skills and links to video vignettes, and an online parent forum containing two networking boards (Ask an Expert and Connect with Parents). In the current phase, a pilot randomized trial with 60 parents will compare an adapted PW plus treatment as usual (TAU) condition (PW+) versus TAU only in a residential treatment center. Both treatment conditions will be delivered by Bachelor's or Master's-level community clinicians. This small trial will provide some initial evidence regarding the utility of a low-cost, low-intensity intervention and whether a larger, fully powered trial is indicated in the future.

Study Details

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Interventions