Preventing Drug Abuse Among Sexual-Minority Youth
Overview
- Phase
- N/A
- Intervention
- Not specified
- Conditions
- Substance Abuse
- Sponsor
- Columbia University
- Enrollment
- 1216
- Locations
- 1
- Primary Endpoint
- Average Number of Times Youth Drank Alcohol in the Past Month
- Status
- Completed
- Last Updated
- 8 months ago
Overview
Brief Summary
The planned randomized clinical trial will longitudinally test a tailored, web-based drug abuse prevention program with a nationwide sample of 15- to 17-year-old sexual minority youth (youth who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, or unsure of their sexual orientation).
Detailed Description
The randomized controlled trial will include at least 890 sexual-minority youth from the United States. Study participants will be 15- to 17-year-old youth recruited from Facebook/Instagram. All youth will complete pretest measures online. Intervention-arm youth will then interact with the 9-session program; youth in the control arm will have access to an attention-placebo website. All youth will then complete posttest measures (immediately following intervention completion and estimated to be approximately 5 months after study onset) and 1-, 2-, and 3-year follow-up measures. Across posttest and annual follow-up measurement occasions, data analyses will examine rates of 30-day drug use between study arms. The investigators will also examine intervention effects on mediator variables associated with drug use and assess the extent to which changes in mediator variables explain differences in drug use between arms. Youth assigned to the intervention arm will have access to 9 intervention sessions delivered online. The sessions will be housed on a website with entertainment features youth seek: life hacks, features on LGBTQ leaders, fortunes, horoscopes, inspiring quotes, and health-related resources. To ensure that youths' expectations for study participation are equivalent across arms and to account for the non-active components of the experimental intervention, the investigators designed the attention-placebo arm. Youth assigned to the attention-placebo arm will have access to the website with entertainment features: life hacks, features on LGBTQ leaders, fortunes, horoscopes, inspiring quotes, and health-related resources.
Investigators
Traci M. Schwinn
Research Scientist in the Faculty of Social Work
Columbia University
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria
- •teenagers between the ages of 15-17 years old
- •identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or unsure of sexual orientation
- •speak and read English
- •access to a private desktop, laptop, or tablet with broadband internet access
- •\- Lives outside the United States of America
Exclusion Criteria
- Not provided
Outcomes
Primary Outcomes
Average Number of Times Youth Drank Alcohol in the Past Month
Time Frame: 3-year follow-up
Participants will be asked to report the numbers of times they have used the substance in the past month.
Average Number of Times Youth Binge Drank in the Past Month
Time Frame: 3-year follow-up
Participants will be asked to report the numbers of times they have used the substance in the past month.
Average Number of Times Youth Smoked Cigarettes in the Past Month
Time Frame: 3-year follow-up
Participants will be asked to report the numbers of times they have used the substance in the past month.
Average Number of Times Youth Used Hard Drugs in the Past Month
Time Frame: 3-year follow-up
Participants will be asked to report the numbers of times they have used the substance in the past month.
Average Number of Times Youth Smoked Marijuana in the Past Month
Time Frame: 3-year follow-up
Participants will be asked to report the numbers of times they have used the substance in the past month.
Average Number of Times Youth Vaped Any Substance in the Past Month
Time Frame: 3-year follow-up
Participants will be asked to report the numbers of times they have used the substance in the past month.
Secondary Outcomes
- Mean Scores for Goal Setting(3-year follow-up)
- Mean Scores for Problem Solving(3-year follow-up)
- Mean Scores for Perceived Stress(3-year follow-up)
- Mean Scores for Assertiveness(3-year follow-up)
- Mean Scores for Consequences of Substance Use(3-year follow-up)
- Mean Scores for Self-Esteem(3-year follow-up)
- Mean Scores for Coping(3-year follow-up)
- Mean Scores for Peer Drug Use(3-year follow-up)
- Mean Scores for Self-Efficacy(3-year follow-up)
- Mean Scores for Drug Refusal Skills(3-year follow-up)