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

Conditions

• Cannabis Use
• Delinquency

Eligibility Criteria

Sex

ALL

Age

12 Years - 16 Years

Healthy Volunteers

Not accepted

Interventions

• Brief Family Based Intervention — BEHAVIORAL
  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.
• Parenting Psychoeducation — BEHAVIORAL
  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

Study Details

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.

Key Dates

First listed

Jul 14, 2026

Start date

Jul 15, 2026

Status verified

Jun 2026

Primary completion

Feb 28, 2029

Completion

Feb 28, 2029

Study Design

Enrollment

60 participants (estimated)

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

SINGLE_GROUP

Primary purpose

TREATMENT

Arms

• Experimental: Family-based intervention
  The family-based 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 (see Table 1 for information regarding modules and session content). Youth will attend the first and last session, in addition to other relevant sessions (e.g., household rules/consequences); parents will attend every session.
• Active Comparator: 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 parent

Primary Outcome Measure

Timeline Follow-Back [ Time Frame: The Timeline Follow-Back will be administered at baseline, 3-months, and 6-months post baseline. ]

Central Contacts

• Kaitlin Sheerin, PhD
  (401) 444-8945
  [email protected]

Locations (1)

Find similar trials in Providence, RI

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