A Comparison of Adolescent Group Therapy and Transitional Family Therapy for Adolescent Alcohol and Drug Abusers

August 25, 2011 updated by: The Morton Center, Inc.

Family and Group Therapies for Adolescent Alcohol Abuse

The purpose of this study is to compare the effectiveness of two psychosocially-based, manual-driven, behavioral modalities. One of these is a standardized version of the established modality of Adolescent Group Therapy (AGT), which includes both psychoeducational and therapeutic components. The other is a state-of-the-art family therapy approach, Transitional Family Therapy (TFT), which integrates management of the current problem with exploration of multigenerational issues. Both approaches have been developed to expressly target adolescent alcohol problems.

Study Overview

Status

Unknown

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Despite well-founded societal concerns over the use of illicit drugs by youth, alcohol use has persisted for decades as the number one adolescent substance abuse problem in the U.S. Further, research has shown that the earlier the onset of alcohol use, the more likely is a person to develop alcohol dependence later, during adulthood. Consequently, the need is clear for interventions which will arrest this process at the earliest point possible. Hence, interventions that mobilize a youth's social systems to help that young person deal with the problem, i.e., the family and peer systems, would make sense from a number of standpoints. Two primary modalities developed to deal with such issues are those examined here: family therapy and group therapy.

The participants were males and females, ages 13-17 at intake, with a DSM-IV diagnosis of either alcohol abuse or alcohol dependence. Following random assignment to condition, basic treatment in both conditions was based on a 12-session model and took approximately 3-4 months, followed by 1-2 aftercare sessions over an additional 1-2 months. The treatment was provided by therapists who were already working within the community (as opposed, for instance, to graduate students). Follow-up assessments were obtained at 3 months post-treatment, 1 year post-treatment, and 2 years post-treatment, thus allowing determination of the extent to which treatment effects "held up" to a degree not attained by most of the previous outcome studies within this domain.

Comparisons: AGT and TFT are being compared on the extent to which their participants used alcohol, as well as other substances, during the three post-treatment periods. Other comparisons include school performance (grade point average), family relations/functioning, and involvement with the legal system.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

120

Phase

  • Phase 2
  • Phase 3

Contacts and Locations

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

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Kentucky
      • Louisville, Kentucky, United States, 40204
        • The Morton Center

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

Ages Eligible for Study

13 years to 17 years (Child)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Male and female outpatients 13-17 years of age at intake.
  • Participants had a current DSM-IV diagnosis of either alcohol abuse or alcohol dependence.
  • Participants signed a witnessed informed consent.
  • Parent or custodian of each (adolescent) participant signed a witnessed informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Participants who met current DSM-IV criteria for bipolar disorder, psychotic disorder, or eating disorder.
  • Enrollment in a residential substance abuse treatment program within 2 months prior to intake.

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: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: 1 AGT
Behavioral: Adolescent group therapy
Adolescent group therapy
Active Comparator: 2 TFT
Behavioral: Transitional family therapy
Transitional family therapy

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Alcohol use Cannabis use Other substance use
Time Frame: Baseline, 3 months post-treatment, 1 year post-treatment, and 2 years post-treatment
Baseline, 3 months post-treatment, 1 year post-treatment, and 2 years post-treatment

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

The Morton Center, Inc.

Collaborators

National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Morris D. Stanton, PhD, The Morton Center

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

July 1, 1999

Primary Completion (Anticipated)

August 1, 2012

Study Completion (Anticipated)

August 1, 2012

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

June 7, 2007

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 7, 2007

First Posted (Estimate)

June 8, 2007

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

August 26, 2011

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 25, 2011

Last Verified

November 1, 2008

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • NIAAA-STA12178
  • R01AA012178 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)
  • NIH Grant R01 AA12178

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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