Smartphone-based Intervention for Young Adults With ADHD

June 12, 2026 updated by: Traci Kennedy

Training Inhibitory Control Using Personalized Strategies (TIPS): A Randomized Controlled Feasibility Trial of a Smartphone-Based Intervention for Alcohol Use in Young Adults With ADHD

The primary goal of this clinical trial is to test if a smartphone-based intervention is feasible & acceptable among young adults with ADHD who also engage in risky drinking behaviors. A secondary aim is to test preliminary intervention efficacy. The main questions it aims to answer are:

Is the smartphone intervention feasible & acceptable for participants (e.g., are they responding regularly, is there a low level of burden reported)?

Does the smartphone intervention improve symptom awareness, inhibitory control, and problematic alcohol use?

Participants will:

Attend a virtual baseline visit to assess ADHD, alcohol use, and other life experiences.

Complete either the TIPS smartphone intervention or a control smartphone protocol over the course of 31-days, starting the first Friday after the baseline visit.

Attend a virtual follow-up visit, where many of the same questions from the baseline visit will be asked again.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
70

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Pennsylvania
      • Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, 15213
        • Recruiting
        • University of Pittsburgh
        • Contact:
        • Contact:

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Age 18-25
  • Current diagnosis of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder-Combined Type according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders - Fifth Edition (DSM 5)
  • Drinks at least 4 (for females) / 5 (for males) alcoholic drinks in a single drinking session at least once per week
  • Owns a smartphone
  • Reads and understands English

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Currently in high school
  • Actively in treatment for Alcohol Use Disorder
  • Alcohol use disorder-severe

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Other
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Triple

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Intervention Arm
Participants in this arm will be randomly assigned to the Experimental condition of the smartphone portion.
Device: Ecological Momentary Assessment for ADHD and Substance Use - Intervention Group
Participants will rate their ADHD symptoms and impairment 4 times daily. Feedback on changes in ADHD symptoms will be provided visually via a graph at each prompt. They will also be texted suggestions following each survey to try behavioral strategies intended to help with their inhibitory control ADHD symptoms and related problems, with a particular focus on alcohol use and problems).
Sham Comparator: Control Arm
Participants in this arm will be randomly assigned to the Control condition of the smartphone portion.
Device: Ecological Momentary Assessment for ADHD & Substance Use - Control Group
Participants will receive 4 prompts per day in the same time windows as participants in the intervention group. However, participants in the control conditions will not be given the 3 TIPS intervention components (symptom monitoring, symptom feedback, and tailored strategy suggestions) and instead will report about their drinking behaviors. They will also answer several "neutral" questionnaires that have been designed by the study team to keep intervention prompt length similar between groups.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Average Completion Rate
Time Frame: Enrollment to Completion of 31-Day Intervention Period
Completion rate will be defined as number of surveys completed out of the 124 that will be sent during the 31-day smartphone intervention period. 4 surveys will be sent every day. An average completion rate of 80% in the intervention group would indicate good feasibility.
Enrollment to Completion of 31-Day Intervention Period
Average mHealth App Usability Questionnaire (MAUQ) Rating
Time Frame: Within 1 month of intervention completion
The usability of the smartphone intervention will be assessed using the 18-item mHealth App Usability Questionnaire (MAUQ), rated from 1-disagree to 7-agree, with an average of at least 5 indicating good usability.
Within 1 month of intervention completion

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in past-month average alcohol quantity
Time Frame: Enrollment to Completion of 31-Day Intervention Period,
A change in past-month average alcohol quantity from pre- to post-intervention, as measured by the 31-day timeline followback interview.
Enrollment to Completion of 31-Day Intervention Period,
Change in number of past-month binge-drinking episodes
Time Frame: Enrollment to Completion of 31-Day Intervention Period

A change in number of past-month binge-drinking episodes from pre- to post- intervention, as measured by the timeline followback interview.

Binge-drinking is defined as drinking 4 or more drinks in assigned female at birth participants, or 5 or more drinks in assigned male at birth participants within a 2-hour period.
Enrollment to Completion of 31-Day Intervention Period
Change in number of past-month alcohol problems reported on the Young Adult Alcohol Consequence Questionnaire
Time Frame: Enrollment to Completion of 31-Day Intervention Period
Participants will complete the 23-item Young Adult Alcohol Consequence Questionnaire at baseline (pre-intervention) and follow-up (post-intervention). For each item, participants will indicate whether the item is something they have experienced in the past month.
Enrollment to Completion of 31-Day Intervention Period

Other Outcome Measures

Other Outcome Measures

For clinical trials, a planned measurement described in the protocol that is used to determine the effect of an intervention/treatment on participants. For observational studies, a measurement or observation that is used to describe patterns of diseases or traits, or associations with exposures, risk factors, or treatment. Types of outcome measures include primary outcome measure and secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in inhibitory control
Time Frame: Enrollment to Completion of 31-Day Intervention Period
Participants and collateral reported will complete the 8-item Inhibit subscale of the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function Adult Version (BRIEF-A) at baseline (pre-intervention) and post-intervention follow-up.
Enrollment to Completion of 31-Day Intervention Period
Change in awareness
Time Frame: Enrollment to Completion of 31-Day Intervention Period
A change in awareness of inhibitory control from pre- to post-intervention, as measured by the 15 item Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS)
Enrollment to Completion of 31-Day Intervention Period
Change in objectively measured inhibitory control
Time Frame: Enrollment to Completion of 31-Day Intervention Period
A change in objectively measured inhibitory control based on mobile CuedGoNoGo responses (rate of commission errors, i.e., when the participant tapped their screen when they weren't supposed to)
Enrollment to Completion of 31-Day Intervention Period
Change in awareness of errors on mobile CuedGoNoGo task
Time Frame: Enrollment to Completion of 31-Day Intervention Period
A change in awareness of errors made on the mobile CuedGoNoGo task (i.e., accuracy of participant's guess of how many commission errors they made), assessed immediately after completion of the task.
Enrollment to Completion of 31-Day Intervention Period
Change in ADHD symptom severity
Time Frame: Enrollment to Completion of 31-Day Intervention Period
A change from baseline to post-intervention follow-up in ADHD symptom severity, as measured by clinician-administered and collateral informant-reported ADHD Rating Scale scores.
Enrollment to Completion of 31-Day Intervention Period

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Traci Kennedy

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Traci Kennedy, PhD., University of Pittsburgh

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
June 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
March 1, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
May 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
June 12, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
June 12, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
June 17, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
June 17, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
June 12, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
June 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • STUDY25080182
  • K23AA029133 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

All collected IPD will be shared with the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Data Archive (NIAAADA).

Analytic code may be shared on an open science platform at the time of publication of results.

IPD Sharing Time Frame

Data will be uploaded to NIAAADA 6 months after data collection begins with no planned end date.

IPD Sharing Access Criteria

Investigators who obtain permission to access this data in NIAAADA will have access to the IPD.

IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type

  • ANALYTIC_CODE

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

Yes

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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