Integrative Risk Reduction and Treatment for Teen Substance Use Problems and PTSD (RRFT)

Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC)

Status: Completed

Conditions: PTSD; Substance Use Disorders; Alcohol Use Disorders

Treatments: Behavioral: Risk Reduction through Family Therapy; Behavioral: Treatment as Usual

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other; NIH

Identifiers

NCT01751035

R01DA031285-01 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Pro00009042

Details and patient eligibility

About

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.

Full description

See above.

Enrollment: 135 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 13 to 18 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• 1. 13-18 years old;
• 2. Presenting to LCC/HH for evaluation or treatment;
• 3. Report having experienced IPV in their lifetime, including: CSA, defined as forced or unwanted: (a) vaginal or anal penetration by an object, finger, or penis; (b) oral sex; (c) touching of the respondent's breasts or genitalia; or (d) respondents' touching of another person's genitalia; CPA, defined as having been (a) attacked or threatened with a gun, knife, or some other weapon; (b) attacked by another person with perceived intent to kill or seriously injure; (c) beaten and injured (i.e., "hurt pretty badly") by another person; (d) spanked so forcefully that it resulted in sustained welts or bruises or required medical care; or (e) cut, burned, or tied up by a caregiver as a punitive consequence; Exposure to Domestic Violence; and being victim of or bearing witness to Community Violence.
• 4. Have a memory of the incident(s);
• 5. Five or more DSM-IV PTSD symptoms;
• 6. Substance use, defined as alcohol or illicit drug use in the past 90 days per self-report and/or urine drug screen or breathalyzer.

Exclusion criteria

• 1. Previously identified as having a Pervasive Developmental Disability or Moderate to Severe Mental Retardation;
• 2. Actively suicidal or homicidal;
• 3. Reports active psychotic disorder

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Double Blind

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135 participants in 2 patient groups, including a placebo group

Treatment as Usual (TAU)

Placebo Comparator group

Description:

Treatment as Usual (TAU) will be defined as it already exists within the community child advocacy centers. This could include individual and/or group therapy using a variety of treatment models.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Treatment as Usual

RRFT

Experimental group

Description:

RRFT is an acronym for an experimental intervention named Risk Reduction through Family Therapy. Please see intervention description for more detail about the model.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Risk Reduction through Family Therapy