Brief Family-Based Cannabis Use Intervention for Youth With Early Juvenile Justice Involvement

Summary

The goal of this randomized clinical trial is to learn if a brief family-based intervention in effective in reducing cannabis use and delinquency in youth participating in juvenile diversion. The main questions it aims to answer are:

Hypothesis 1: the intervention will be (a) feasible, as evidenced by enrollment rates (\> 80%), follow-up rates (\> 80%), and withdrawal rates (\< 20%); and (b) acceptable, as evidenced by \> 80% of treatment evaluation ratings in the highest two Likert rating categories and positive exit interview feedback.

Hypothesis 2: those parents in the experimental condition, as compared to the active comparison psychoeducation condition, will evidence greater improvement over time in the hypothesized family-level mechanisms proposed in the intervention (i.e., parenting practices and parent well-being) as well as in youth-level outcomes, including cannabis use, recidivism, and HIV/STI risk.

Researchers will compare the family-based treatment to parenting psychoeducation. Caregiver and youth participants will complete measures relevant to primary outcomes and putative mechanisms at baseline, 3-month, and 6-month follow-ups.

Conditions

• Cannabis Use
• Delinquency

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Brief Family Based Intervention

The intervention is proposed as 6 sessions long and will have the following modules: 1) Introduction to Treatment; 2) Parent Training Strategies (clinician must cover at least 1 topic from this module); 3) Improving Parent Well-Being (clinician must cover at least 1 topic from this module); and 4) Treatment Termination and Future Planning. Youth may attend the first and last session, in addition to other relevant sessions (e.g., household rules/consequences); parents will attend every session. Clinicians will use measures available from the baseline assessment relevant to treatment mechanisms (i.e., indices of parent well-being and parenting skills, the initial clinical interview from the first session, and the family's treatment goals to determine session content.

BEHAVIORAL

Parenting Psychoeducation

Psychoeducation in the comparison group will involve 6 hour-long sessions delivered via secure videoconferencing focused on providing parents with key developmental knowledge regarding adolescence and parenting. To differentiate the psychoeducation provided in the intervention group, sessions will focus on typical adolescent development and parenting knowledge derived from Centers for Disease Control publicly available information.The first two sessions will provide information about typical developmental milestones in adolescence (e.g., increased need for privacy and independence). The third and fourth session will provide information on healthy vs. unhealthy behaviors in adolescence (e.g., safe driving behaviors). Finally, the final two sessions will give parents' knowledge regarding general positive parenting practices to shape healthy adolescent development. This is an active comparison condition seeking to change parents' parenting knowledge regarding typical challenges parents

Sponsors & Collaborators

• National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

  collaborator NIH

• Rhode Island Hospital

  lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

DOUBLE

Model

SINGLE_GROUP

Eligibility

Min Age

12 Years

Max Age

16 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2026-07-15

Primary Completion

2029-02-28

Completion

2029-02-28

Countries

• United States

Study Locations