TEEN INTERVENE

 

OVERVIEW

 

Teen Intervene is a brief, school-based intervention aimed at reducing substance use in adolescents and youth showing early signs of substance abuse problems.  In an evaluation of the program, 79 students meeting the diagnostic criteria for substance abuse problems were randomly assigned to one of the following three conditions:  1) a Brief Intervention (BI), now called Teen Intervene, consisting of two therapy sessions with adolescents, 2) a BI consisting of two therapy sessions with adolescents and one therapy session with parents, or 3) an assessment only control condition.  Six month follow-up results indicate that, compared to control group participants, participants in the adolescent-parent BI group reported significantly fewer days of alcohol use, alcohol binging, illicit drug use, and substance use related negative consequences than participants in the control condition.  Participants in the adolescent-parent BI group also reported fewer alcohol use days than participants in the adolescent only BI group.  Additionally, participants in the adolescent only BI group reported significantly fewer alcohol use days and fewer substance use related consequences than participants in the control group.

 

DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM

 

Target population:  13 to 19 year olds with a history of alcohol or drug use and who display the early stages of alcohol or drug use problems.

 

Teen Intervene is a brief, school-based intervention geared at reducing alcohol and drug use in adolescents and youth at risk for developing substance use problems.  The program consists of two or three 60-minute, one-on-one therapy sessions that employ motivation and self-change techniques.

 

Participants in the BI adolescent only condition completed two, 60-minute, one-on-one therapy sessions that employed motivational self-change techniques aimed at reducing the adolescent’s substance use.  Adolescents in the combined adolescent and parent BI also participated in the same two, 60-minute therapy sessions.  In addition, the adolescents’ parents participated in a one-on-one session with the adolescent’s therapist.  This session addressed ways in which the parent could support the adolescents in their substance use reduction goals.  Participants in the assessment only control condition did not receive any treatments.

 

The first therapy session focuses on eliciting information about the individual’s substance use and its related consequences.  The therapist also evaluates the student’s willingness to change and helps the individual set goals that he or she would like to pursue.  The second session focuses on reviewing the patient’s progress toward reaching his or her goals, discussing high-risk situations that have caused difficulty in reaching the goals, discussing strategies to overcome these barriers, and negotiating the continuation of goals or the setting of new goals.  A third session may also occur, and this session is conducted with the adolescent’s parent.  This session also uses motivational goal setting and addresses the following topics:  a) The child’s substance use problem, b) the parent’s attitudes or behaviors towards the substance use problem, c) parental monitoring and supervision, and d) healthy substance use behaviors and attitudes by the parent.

 

The cost of the Teen Intervene program is $225.  The cost includes the program implementation manual, reproducible worksheets, and a posttest.

 

EVALUATION(S) OF PROGRAM

 

Winters, K.C., Leitten, W. (2007). Brief intervention for drug-abusing adolescents in a school setting.  Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 21, 249-254.

 

Evaluated population:  79 adolescents from an urban, public school system who met the diagnostic criteria for two current substance abuse disorders served as the sample for this study.  The sample was 62% male, and the mean age of the adolescents was 15.6 years.

 

Approach:  Participants were randomly assigned to one of the following three conditions: 1) A Brief Intervention (BI), now called Teen Intervene, consisting of two therapy sessions with only the adolescents, 2) A BI consisting of two therapy sessions with the adolescent and one therapy session with the parent, or 3) an assessment only control condition.

 

Participants in the study first completed a baseline assessment that examined the presence of substance use disorders, use of drugs and alcohol in the recent past, perceptions of the consequences of alcohol and drug use, and involvement in other alcohol or drug treatment programs.  Participants also were given these measures at 1 and 6 month follow-up assessments.

 

 

Results:  At the six-month post-intervention follow-up, results indicated that participants in the combined adolescent-parent BI group reported significantly fewer alcohol use days, alcohol binge days, illicit drug days, and substance use related negative consequences than participants in the control condition.  These participants also reported significantly fewer alcohol use days than the participants in the adolescent only BI group.  Additionally, participants in the adolescent only BI group reported significantly fewer alcohol use days and substance use related consequences than participants in the control group.  There were no significant differences between participants in the adolescent only BI group and participants in the control group in regards to number of alcohol binge days and number of illicit drug use days.   Overall, the adolescent-parent BI group had a broader range of impacts than the adolescent only BI group.

 

 

 

 

SOURCES FOR MORE INFORMATION

 

Link to program manual:  http://www.hazelden.org/OA_HTML/ibeCCtpItmDspRte.jsp?item=1183

 

Information on implementing this program can be obtained from:

 

Roxanne Schladweiler

Executive Director of Sales

Hazelden Publishing and Educational Services

15251 Pleasant Valley Road

Center City, MN 55012

Phone: (800) 328-9000; Fax: (651) 213-4577

E-mail: rschladweiler@hazelden.org

 

Website: http://www.hazelden.org/bookstore

 

References:

 

Winters, K.C., Leitten, W. (2007). Brief intervention for drug-abusing adolescents in a school setting.  Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 21, 249-254.

 

Program categorized in this guide according to the following:

 

Evaluated participant ages: 14 to 17 year olds

Evaluated participant grades:  N/A   

Program age ranges in the guide:  Adolescents, Youth

Program components:  Counseling/Therapy, School-Based, Parent or Family Component

Measured outcomes:  Behavioral Problems

 

Program information last updated on 9/8/08.

 

 

 

		© Child Trends 2003