Research on Outpatient Adolescent Treatment for Comorbid Substance Use and Internalizing Disorders

Phase 2

Completed

• Conditions: Anxiety Disorder; Substance-Related Disorders; Depressive Disorder
• Interventions: Behavioral: OutPatient Treatment for Adolescents (OPT-A); Behavioral: Treatment As Usual

• Registration Number: NCT01117753
• Lead Sponsor: Medical University of South Carolina

Brief Summary

Adolescent substance abuse results in significant negative outcomes and extraordinary costs for youths, their families, communities, and society. Moreover, rates of psychiatric comorbidity among substance abusing youth range from 25% up to 82%, and youths with a dual diagnosis are more than twice as costly to treat compared to those with no comorbidity. The applicant principal investigator recently completed a pilot project funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse focused on developing and piloting a psychosocial treatment specifically for youth presenting for outpatient treatment with co-occurring substance use and internalizing (i.e., mood and/or anxiety) problems. Results were promising with the experimental group exhibiting significantly less substance use and more rapid reductions in anxiety and depressive symptoms compared to the control group. The proposed research is a randomized clinical trial (RCT) to compare the experimental treatment (OutPatient Treatment for Adolescents; OPT-A) to an "active placebo" on key clinical indices from pre-treatment through 18 months. The proposed RCT (n = 160) employs the treatment manual, quality assurance protocol, and therapist training protocol developed and successfully tested in the pilot study, to evaluate the efficacy of OPT-A for youth referred to outpatient treatment of co-occurring substance use and internalizing problems. The following outcomes will be evaluated: drug use; mental health; behavioral, school, peer, and family functioning; and consumer satisfaction. The intervention addresses one of the more prevalent and most challenging, costly, and understudied presenting problems among adolescent outpatients. If successful, this research could provide a considerable contribution in the treatment field for youth with co-occurring substance use and internalizing disorders.

Detailed Description

Not available

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2009-07
• Study First Submitted: 2010-05-04
• Study First Submitted QC: 2010-05-04
• Study First Posted: 2010-05-05
• Status Verified: 2013-05
• Primary Completion: 2014-06
• Study Completion: 2014-06
• Last Update Submitted: 2015-04-10
• Last Update Posted: 2015-04-13

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 140

Inclusion Criteria

• 10 to 17 years of age
• Residing with at least one adult caregiver who serves as a parent figure
• In need of treatment for a Substance Abuse or Dependence Disorder
• In need of treatment for an Axis I Mood Disorder and/or Anxiety Disorder

Exclusion Criteria

• Pervasive Developmental Disorder
• Active Psychotic Disorder
• Severe or profound mental retardation

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
OPT-A	OutPatient Treatment for Adolescents (OPT-A)	OPT-A is an outpatient family-based treatment for co-occurring substance use and internalizing disorders
Treatment as Usual	Treatment As Usual	Treatment as usual in a community based mental health center

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Mental Health	baseline and 1-, 2-, 3-, 6-, 12-, and 18-month follow-up
Substance use	baseline and 1-, 2-, 3-, 6-, 12-, and 18-month follow-up

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Medical University of South Carolina, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Family Services Research Center; 🇺🇸 Charleston, South Carolina, United States