The near absence of research on adolescent aftercare is cause for great concern given the estimated two-in-three adolescents who relapse within 90 days of treatment (Brown, Vik, & Creamer, 1989). The primary aim of this Stage I-FIRST Award study is to address critical gaps in the adolescent aftercare literature by developing and pilot-testing a cognitive-behavioral therapy in response to NIDA's Behavioral Therapies Development Program. The proposed therapy utilizes stage of change theory to coordinate established treatments to promote abstinence and prevent relapse among drug abusing youth. The research plan consists of four primary aims:
AIM 1. Therapy manual development will be accomplished by (a) formulating a therapy outline, (b) delivering an initial version of the therapy to one recovering adolescent group, and completing a therapy manual based on videotape transcriptions of the initial therapy administration and input from residential treatment providers, school chemical dependency counselors, recovering adolescents, and University of Minnesota faculty.
AIM 2. Instrument development will address client treatment satisfaction, HIV-risk behaviors, and therapist adherence and competence pertaining to both pilot test treatments.
AIM 3. Therapist training will involve a six-month program that includes didactic sessions, companion videotapes, and practice delivery experiences on both pilot test aftercare treatments.
AIM 4. A pilot test will be conducted during the second and third study years to compare the effects of the cognitive-behavioral therapy against a currently available aftercare service on problem severity outcomes among recovering adolescents. Both pilot test treatments will benefit from a detailed therapy manual. Learning disability diagnosis will be included as a key grouping variable given research indicating that upwards of 70 percent of drug abusing youth also suffer from learning disabilities which substantially increase the risk for a wide array of morbidities, including heightened chemical dependency, school dropout, and delinquency (Karacostas & Fisher, 1993). Pilot test analyses will address anticipated interrelationships between aftercare therapy, learning disability diagnosis, and process and outcome measures.
| Whitaker, Damiya; Graham, Camelia; Severtson, Stevan Geoffrey et al. (2012) Neighborhood & Family Effects on Learning Motivation among Urban African American Middle School Youth. J Child Fam Stud 21:131-138 |
