Teen Marijuana Check-Up

Reaching and Motivating Change in Teen Marijuana Smokers

This study will test a behavioral intervention tailored for adolescents who smoke marijuana and have concerns about their use. The study's purpose is to determine whether this intervention (two-sessions of motivational enhancement intervention followed by 12 months of optional skills training) will be more effective in reducing the use of this drug if augmented by three periodic motivational enhancement treatment check-in sessions as compared to three periodic computer-based check-in sessions.

HYPOTHESES: (1) Participants in the motivational enhancement treatment check-ins (MCI) condition will reduce their use of marijuana more than participants in the computer based (Comp) condition and report fewer negative consequences. These differences are expected to be greater at later follow-ups (i.e, 9, 12, and 15 months) after repeated check-ins exert a cumulative effect. (2)Engagement in CBT sessions will be greater for those in the MCI condition and will partially mediate the effect on marijuana related outcome indices. (3) The MCI intervention will lead to increased self-efficacy, and decreased normative perceptions of marijuana use by other teens that will also partially mediate the effect of the intervention.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Cannabis Use Disorder
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Marijuana Check-Ins

Detailed Description

The goal of this trial is to evaluate the efficacy of an enhanced Teen Marijuana Check-Up protocol to reach and intervene with non-treatment seeking adolescents who use marijuana heavily. Two hundred fifty adolescents who use marijuana heavily will receive a 2-session individual motivational enhancement therapy. All participants will also be offered the opportunity, over a 12-month period, to repeatedly re-initiate marijuana counseling. Participants will be randomly assigned to receive one of two types of periodic follow-up contacts: Motivational interviewing-based Marijuana Check-Ins (MCI) or Computer Based Control (Comp) sessions.

All participants will be reassessed at the 6, 9, 12, and 15-month anniversaries of enrollment. Following their initial motivational enhancement therapy, the 125 experimental condition participants will additionally have a motivational enhancement treatment "check-in" session with their counselor at the 4, 7, and 10-month anniversaries of enrollment intended to reinforce the maintenance of treatment gains and motivate continued success, increase motivation to change for participants who did not meet their marijuana use goals, and/or prompt utilization of cognitive-behavioral treatment (CBT) sessions as needed. The 125 comparison participants will complete a computer based questionnaire at the same time intervals to serve as an attentional control.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 252
• Phase: Phase 3

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 14 years to 19 years (Child, Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

1. age (14-19 years old),
2. grade level (9th through 11th) and
3. marijuana use.

Exclusion Criteria:

Individuals will be excluded if:

1. they are not fluent in English,
2. they have a thought disorder that precludes full participation,
3. they refuse to accept randomization to condition,
4. they are high school seniors.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

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

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Computer Check-In Control; The Computer Check-In gives the participant contact with the research therapist, an assessment of marijuana use and the current impact of use, and a reminder about optional support sessions.	Behavioral: Marijuana Check-Ins; The MCI, an MET intervention, will include the provision of personalized feedback with a motivational interviewing style. The focus of these sessions will be individualized to participants based on recent marijuana use and related experiences. Feedback given to participants during the MCI session will review progress toward goals as self-reported in percent days abstinent, normative data regarding marijuana use, review of reported consequences of marijuana use, review of abuse and dependence criteria reported, comparison of consequences and abuse and dependence symptoms reported over time, review of the positive outcomes from reductions in use, and review of immediate and long-term life goals and how their marijuana goal will affect these. HEs will offer particular encouragement to take advantage of CBT sessions to participants who feel they currently need treatment.
Experimental: Marijuana Check-Ins; The MCI, a MET intervention, will include the provision of personalized feedback with a motivational interviewing style. The focus of these sessions will be individualized to participants based on recent marijuana use and related experiences. Feedback given to participants during the MCI session will review progress toward goals as self-reported in percent days abstinent, normative data regarding marijuana use, review of reported consequences of marijuana use, review of abuse and dependence criteria reported, comparison of consequences and abuse and dependence symptoms reported over time, review of the positive outcomes from reductions in use, and review of immediate and long-term life goals and how their marijuana goal will affect these. HEs will offer particular encouragement to take advantage of CBT sessions to participants who feel they currently need treatment.	Behavioral: Marijuana Check-Ins; The MCI, an MET intervention, will include the provision of personalized feedback with a motivational interviewing style. The focus of these sessions will be individualized to participants based on recent marijuana use and related experiences. Feedback given to participants during the MCI session will review progress toward goals as self-reported in percent days abstinent, normative data regarding marijuana use, review of reported consequences of marijuana use, review of abuse and dependence criteria reported, comparison of consequences and abuse and dependence symptoms reported over time, review of the positive outcomes from reductions in use, and review of immediate and long-term life goals and how their marijuana goal will affect these. HEs will offer particular encouragement to take advantage of CBT sessions to participants who feel they currently need treatment.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
frequency (number of days) of marijuana use	Global Appraisal of Individual Needs - I (self-report measure)	60 days
treatment utilization	Global Appraisal of Individual Needs - I	90 days
marijuana abuse/dependence symptoms	Global Appraisal of Individual Needs - I	60 days
engagement in cognitive behavioral skills training sessions	Frequency of attendance at optional in-school counseling sessions	90 days

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
self-efficacy	Self-efficacy scale that assesses self-efficacy for avoiding marijuana use	90 days
normative perceptions of peer marijuana use	Descriptive perceived norms concerning the frequency of marijuana use by other adolescents of the participant's age	90 days

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Denise Walker
• Collaborators: National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA); Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Denise D Walker, PhD, University of Washington School of Social Work

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: March 1, 2011
• Primary Completion (Actual): September 1, 2014
• Study Completion (Actual): September 1, 2014

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: April 21, 2010
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 22, 2010
• First Posted (Estimate): April 23, 2010

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimate): October 27, 2016
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 25, 2016
• Last Verified: October 1, 2016

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: marijuana; cognitive behavioral treatment; cannabis use disorder; motivational enhancement treatment; continuing care
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Mental Disorders; Chemically-Induced Disorders; Substance-Related Disorders; Marijuana Abuse
• Other Study ID Numbers: 37852-G; 2R01DA014296-09A1 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)