Modified Family Talk Intervention and Parameter Estimation
Study Details
Study Description
Brief Summary
Risk for substance use disorder (SUD) begins early in the life course. Although preventing and decreasing illicit and nonmedical drug use among youth is an urgent public health priority, there are currently few evidence-based prevention strategies feasible for delivery in the primary care setting. The investigators propose a three-year plan to collect critical pilot data to pilot test and optimize a dyadic intervention that aims to increase family resilience, strengthen coping skills, help families plan for the future, and prevent youth SUD.
The 'prototype' for the intervention approach is Family Talk, an evidence-based parent-youth dyadic intervention that can be delivered within the existing infrastructure of the patient-centered medical home. The investigators have made preliminary adaptations to the model in preparation for testing. To prepare for a subsequent efficacy study, a two-arm pilot randomized controlled trial of the intervention with 40 parent-youth dyads to optimize the intervention model will be conducted. The feasibility of the intervention will be evaluated. In addition, empiric estimates of study parameters to inform the planning of a fully powered randomized controlled trial and plausible intervention targets using semi-structured qualitative interviews will be obtained.
| Condition or Disease | Intervention/Treatment | Phase |
|---|---|---|
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N/A |
Study Design
Arms and Interventions
| Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
|---|---|
| Experimental: Intervention refinement arm 20 parent-youth [12-18 years old) dyads will be randomized to this arm and receive the Modified Family Talk intervention. |
Other: Modified Family Talk
The Modified Family Talk intervention consists of six modules, each lasting approximately 60 minutes. Family Talk is intended to be delivered over a period of 12 weeks, with meetings occurring every 1-2 weeks.
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| Experimental: Parameter estimation arm 20 parent-youth dyads randomized to this control-like arm will receive current best practice care in the patient-centered medical home |
Other: Control-like parameter estimation
Parameter estimation is designed to emulate best practices around comprehensive, high quality, patient-centered care for adults and youth. Participants will have access to collaborative adult Office Based Addiction Treatment (OBAT) clinical services, multidisciplinary adolescent primary care clinics with co-located adolescent substance use specialists, high quality social work services, integrated behavioral health, and access to patient navigators for assistance connecting to community resources.
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Outcome Measures
Primary Outcome Measures
- Participation metrics [12 months]
The number of families approached and screened for the project, number ineligible, number refusing participation, and number ultimately enrolled will be assessed
- Reasons for not enrolling [12 months]
An investigator created questionnaire will be obtain the reasons why eligible potential participants did not enroll in the study.
- Study attrition rates [12 months]
The percent of participants will be calculated by dividing the number of participants that complete the study by the total number of participants enrolled.
- Number of sessions [throughout the study up to 12 months]
The number of sessions delivered by the intervention providers will be tracked.
- Person-time of sessions [throughout the study up to 12 months]
The total and average person time for sessions delivered by the intervention providers will be tracked.
Secondary Outcome Measures
- Youth substance use in preceding 90 days [90 days]
The Timeline Follow-back Interview (TLFB) is a 14 item instrument that will be used to assess substance use in the preceding 90 days and to evaluate for new onset of substance use, as well as increased frequency or intensity of use.
- Youth substance use screening [12 months]
Brief Screener for Tobacco, Alcohol, and other Drugs (BSTAD), a brief, validated instrument designed for use in primary care will be used to screen youth for substance use, including use of tobacco (adapted to include e-cigarettes and vaping products), alcohol, marijuana, prescription medications (including opioids), heroin, and other illicit substance use in the past year.
- Family Communication [3 months, 6 months, 12 months]
Family communication will be assessed by the 10-item Family Problem-Solving Communication Index that evaluates family communication patterns in response to problems or conflicts and identifies affirming and incendiary communication patterns. Each item has a choice of answers, which correlate with 0-3 points where 0 = False' 1 = Mostly false' 2 = Mostly true' 3 = True. The answers to different items are added together for an "affirming communication" subscale and an "incendiary communication" subscale. Reverse score items 3 & 9. For Affirming Communication: items 2' 4' and 6' 8'10 are summed. For Incendiary Communication: items 1' 3' 5' 7' 9 are summed. The subscales can range from 0-15. Higher scores for the affirming communication subscale are more favorable, while lower scores for the incendiary communication subscale are more favorable.
- Family Functioning [3 months, 6 months, 12 months]
The Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (IPPA) will be used to assess family functioning. IPPA consists of 25 items for the mother, 25 items for the father, and 25 items for the adolescent and uses a 5-point LIkert scale for each items. The IPPA is scored by reverse-scoring the negatively worded items and then summing the response values in each section. This self-report scale measures youth perceptions of attachment to parents/caregivers along three dimensions: trust, communication, and alienation
- Depression [3 months, 6 months, 12 months]
Depression will be assessed using the Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology (QIDS).Total QIDS scores range from 0 to 27, with scores of 5 or lower indicative of no depression, scores from 6 to 10 indicating mild depression, 11 to 15 indicating moderate depression, 16 to 20 reflecting severe depression, and total scores greater than 21 indicating very severe depression.
- Perceived Stress [3 months, 6 months, 12 months]
Perceived stress will be assessed using the 10 item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). The range of responses for each item is from 0-4, where 0 = Never 1 = Almost Never 2 = Sometimes 3 = Fairly Often 4 = Very Often. total scores can range from 0 to 40 and higher scores are correlated with more perceived stress.
- Problem solving skills [3 months, 6 months, 12 months]
Problem solving skills will be assessed with the Social Problem Solving Inventory -Revised (SPSI-R). This 25 item instrument measures problem orientation and problem-solving skills in 5 dimensions: positive (PPO) and negative orientation(NPO) ; avoidance (AS); impulsivity (ICS) ; and rationality (RPS). Each dimension subscale scores range from 0 to 20, and the total scores of the SPSI-R: S range from 0 to 100. Higher subscores on PPO and RPS, and lower subscores of NPO, ICS, and AS indicate good social problem solving.
- Self-efficacy coping strategies [3 months, 6 months, 12 months]
Coping strategies will be assessed by the 26 item Coping Self-Efficacy Scale which measures ability to cope with life changes in three domains: problem-focused coping, handling unpleasant thoughts, and getting support from family/friends. Anchor points on the scale are 0 ('cannot do at all'), 5 ('moderately certain can do') and 10 ('certain can do'). A high score - between 17 and 20 - indicates a highly resilient coper, and a low score - between 4 and 13 - suggests a low resilient coper.
- Types of coping strategies [3 months, 6 months, 12 months]
The Brief Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced (COPE) measures 14 different adaptive and problematic coping styles. Respondents rate items on a 4-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (I haven't been doing this at all) to 4 (I've been doing this a lot). Each scale is comprised of 2 items. Higher scores indicate increased utilization of that specific coping strategy. There is no overall total score.
- Social support [3 months, 6 months, 12 months]
Social support will be assessed using the Social Adjustment Scale Self-Report (SAS-SR). It examines social and role functioning in six areas: work; social activities; relationships with family; spouse or partner; parent; member of family unit. Each question is rated on a five-point scale from which subscale means and an overall mean can be obtained. Higher scores denote greater impairment. Role areas not relevant to the respondent can be skipped
- Youth perceptions of peer, sibling, parental substance use [3 months, 6 months, 12 months]
The Personal Experience Inventory will be used to assess this outcome. It assesses 3 domains: peer use (5 items); sibling use (4 items); and parent use (4 items). The response options include Likert scales that correspond to answers such as Never/Once or Twice/Sometimes/Often, Strongly Disagree/Disagree/Agree/Strongly Agree, which in turn correspond to scores of 1-4. Subscale scores can be compared to population norms and cutoffs.
Eligibility Criteria
Criteria
Inclusion Criteria for youth:
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12-18 years without diagnosed SUD
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Comfortable speaking English or Spanish
Inclusion Criteria for parent:
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18 years or older
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Receiving treatment for SUD
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Receiving primary health care in Boston Medical Center (BMC) Health System
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Comfortable speaking English or Spanish
Exclusion Criteria:
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Presence of acute family crisis, such as recent death, incarceration, separation, divorce, or other stressor
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Parent or youth with cognitive limitation or intellectual disability
Contacts and Locations
Locations
No locations specified.Sponsors and Collaborators
- Boston Medical Center
- National Institute of Drug Abuse
Investigators
- Principal Investigator: Caroline J Kistin, Boston Medical Center, Pediatrics Department
Study Documents (Full-Text)
None provided.More Information
Publications
None provided.- H-42837