For Project Step Up (PSU), we propose to adapt a highly successful evidenced-based alcohol reductionintervention, Project Options, developed by Sandra A. Brown, PhD from the University of California at SanDiego. Specifically, the current study proposes to reduce alcohol consumption and alcohol-related negativeoutcomes in adolescents with FASDs by providing a brief intervention that addresses strategies to copeeffectively with the pressures associated with alcohol misuse. Participants aged 16 to 18 years will berandomly assigned to one of two conditions: Project Step Up (PSU) or to the Control Group (CG). Adolescentswill be treated in 5 cohorts. Each cohort will average approximately 10 adolescents in each condition [5 cohortsx 20 (10 PSU + 10 CG) participants per cohort = 100 participants]. The intervention will consist of 6 sessions,of 60 minutes each, delivered over the course of 6 weeks. Parents in the PSU condition will attend separateeducational sessions that will run concurrently with the adolescent sessions. The PSU group will receive abaseline assessment prior to the beginning of the 6-week intervention and post-treatment testing immediatelyfollowing the intervention, and at 6-month follow-up. Adolescents in the CG condition will receive educationalpamphlets on alcohol use and stress. They will receive a baseline and 6-week assessment that will be timed inaccordance with the baseline and post-treatment assessments for participants in the PSU condition. They willbe assessed again at 6 months and then receive active treatment. We expect that this intervention will providean effective, acceptable, and cost-efficient model for the prevention of alcohol abuse and negative alcohol-related outcomes. It is anticipated that the findings from this research will facilitate a systematiccomprehensive and accessible continuum of care for persons with FASDs that will: 1) improve quality of life, 2)prevent the development of secondary disabling conditions, and 3) provide support and assistance toindividuals with FASDs and their families.
We propose to reduce alcohol consumption and alcohol-related negative outcomes in adolescents with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs) by providing a brief intervention that will help them cope effectively with the pressures associated with alcohol misuse. One hundred participants, aged 16 to 18 years, will be randomly assigned to one of two conditions: Project Step Up (PSU) or to the Control Group (CG). The intervention will consist of 6 sessions, of 60 minutes each, delivered over the course of 6 weeks. Parents in the PSU condition will attend separate educational sessions that will run concurrently with the adolescent sessions, we expect that this intervention will provide an effective, acceptable, and cost-efficient model for the prevention of alcohol abuse and negative alcohol-related outcomes in individuals with FASDs.
| O'Connor, Mary J; Quattlebaum, Justin; Castañeda, Marleen et al. (2016) Alcohol Intervention for Adolescents with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders: Project Step Up, a Treatment Development Study. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 40:1744-51 |
