Developing a Smartphone-Based Adjunct Intervention to Reduce Cannabis Use Among Juvenile Justice-Involved Adolescents: A Multiphase Study Protocol (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Ashley Helseth ◽  
John Guigayoma ◽  
Dayna Price ◽  
Anthony Spirito ◽  
Melissa A Clark ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Substance Use ◽  
Juvenile Justice ◽  
Phase I ◽  
Behavioral Health ◽  
Juvenile Justice System ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Cannabis Use ◽  
Phase Iii ◽  
Family Court ◽  
Increased Risk

BACKGROUND Adolescents involved in the juvenile justice system who use cannabis are at an increased risk for future substance use disorders and rearrest. Many court-involved, non-incarcerated (CINI) youth are referred for services in the community and often encounter multiple barriers to care, highlighting a need for minimally burdensome services that can be delivered in justice settings. Digital health interventions are accessible, easy to implement, and can provide ongoing support, but have not been developed to address the unique needs of CINI youth who use cannabis. OBJECTIVE This multiphase study will develop, implement, and pilot test a novel smartphone app, Teen Empowerment through Computerized Health (TECH), to reduce cannabis and other substance use among CINI youth. TECH is conceptualized as a digital adjunct to a brief computerized intervention delivered by our family court partner. METHODS Following the principles of user-centered design, Phase I interviews with CINI youth ages 14-18 (n = 14-18), their caregivers (n = 6-8), and behavioral health app developers (n = 6-8) will guide TECH design decisions. Next, in Phase II CINI youth (n = 10) will beta test the TECH app prototype for 1 month; their feedback regarding feasibility and acceptability will directly inform the app refinement process. Finally, in Phase III CINI youth (n = 60) will participate in a pilot randomized control trial for 6 months comparing the preliminary effectiveness of the adjunctive TECH app on cannabis use outcomes. RESULTS Phase I data collection began in September 2020 and was completed in December 2021; 14 CINI youth, 8 caregivers, and 11 behavioral health app developers participated. Phases II and III will take place in 2022-2023 and 2023-2025, respectively. CONCLUSIONS This body of work will provide insight into the feasibility and acceptability of a smartphone-based adjunctive intervention designed for CINI youth. Phase III results will offer preliminary indication of the effectiveness of the TECH app in reducing cannabis use among CINI youth. CLINICALTRIAL We completed Phase I of this 3-phase research study in December 2021. The pilot RCT (Phase III of the research) is scheduled to launch in Summer 2023 and will be submitted for registration the clinicaltrials.gov website within 21 days of enrolling the first Phase III participant.

Out of the Picture: Latinx and White Male Youths’ Facial Features Predict Their Juvenile Justice System Processing Outcomes

2021 ◽  
pp. 001112872199934
Author(s):  
Jacqueline M. Chen ◽  
Adam D. Fine ◽  
Jasmine B. Norman ◽  
Paul J. Frick ◽  
Elizabeth Cauffman
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Juvenile Justice ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Juvenile Justice System ◽  
White Male ◽  
Facial Features ◽  
Legal Decisions ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
First Time ◽  
To Receive

Adults’ facial characteristics predict whether and how severely they are sentenced in the adult criminal justice system. We investigate whether characteristics of White and Latinx male youths’ faces predict the severity of their processing in the juvenile justice system. Among a sample of first-time offenders, despite no differences in the severity of their offenses, youth who were perceived by naïve observers as more dominant, less trustworthy, less healthy, and having darker skin were more likely to receive harsher sanctions. Thus, extralegal factors like appearance may bias legal decisions that place some youth at increased risk for more restrictive sanctioning. Our findings highlight the need for structured approaches to juvenile processing decisions that take youths’ appearance out of the picture.

610 Self-Reported Sleep and Circadian Characteristics Predict Future Substance Use: A Longitudinal Analysis from the NCANDA Study

SLEEP ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 44 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. A240-A240
Author(s):  
Brant Hasler ◽  
Jessica Graves ◽  
Meredith Wallace ◽  
Stephanie Claudatos ◽  
Fiona Baker ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Substance Use ◽  
Sleep Duration ◽  
Daytime Sleepiness ◽  
Parental Education ◽  
Negative Binomial ◽  
Longitudinal Design ◽  
Random Effect ◽  
Cannabis Use ◽  
Increased Risk

Abstract Introduction Growing evidence indicates that sleep characteristics predict later substance use and related problems during adolescence and young adulthood. However, most prior studies have assessed a limited range of sleep characteristics, studied only a narrow age span, and included relatively few follow-up assessments. Here, we used multiple years of data from the National Consortium on Alcohol and Neurodevelopment in Adolescence (NCANDA) study, which spans the adolescent period with an accelerated longitudinal design, to examine whether multiple sleep characteristics in any year predict substance use the following year. Methods The sample included 831 participants (423 females; age 12–21 years at baseline) from NCANDA. Sleep variables included the previous year’s circadian preference, sleep quality, daytime sleepiness, timing of midsleep (weekday and weekend), and sleep duration (weekday and weekend). Each sleep variable’s association with the subsequent year’s substance use (cannabis use or alcohol binge severity) across years 1–5 was tested separately using generalized linear mixed models (zero-inflated Negative Binomial for cannabis; ordinal for binge severity) with age, sex, race, visit, parental education, previous year’s substance use (yes/no) as covariates and subject as a random effect. Results With regard to cannabis use, greater eveningness and shorter weekday sleep duration predicted an increased risk for additional days of cannabis use the following year, while greater eveningness and later weekend midsleep predicted a greater likelihood of any cannabis use the following year. With regard to alcohol binge severity, greater eveningness, greater daytime sleepiness, and shorter sleep duration (weekday and weekend) all predicted an increased risk for more severe alcohol bingeing the following year. Post-hoc stratified analyses indicated that some of these associations may differ between high school-age and college-age participants. Conclusion Our findings extend prior work, indicating that eveningness and later sleep timing, as well as shorter sleep duration, especially on weekdays, are risk factors for future cannabis use and alcohol misuse. These results underscore a need for greater attention to sleep characteristics as potential risk factors for substance use in adolescents and young adults and may inform future areas of intervention. Support (if any) Grants from NIH: R01AA025626 (Hasler) and U01AA021690 (Clark) and UO1 AA021696 (Baker & Colrain)

scholarly journals Adolescent cannabis use, baseline prodromal symptoms and the risk of psychosis

2018 ◽  
Vol 212 (4) ◽  
pp. 227-233 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antti Mustonen ◽  
Solja Niemelä ◽  
Tanja Nordström ◽  
Graham K. Murray ◽  
Pirjo Mäki ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Substance Use ◽  
General Population ◽  
Birth Cohort ◽  
Psychotic Disorders ◽  
Temporal Order ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Cannabis Use ◽  
Prodromal Symptoms ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Icd 10

BackgroundThe association between cannabis use and the risk of psychosis has been studied extensively but the temporal order still remains controversial.AimsTo examine the association between cannabis use in adolescence and the risk of psychosis after adjustment for prodromal symptoms and other potential confounders.MethodThe sample (n = 6534) was composed of the prospective general population-based Northern Finland Birth Cohort of 1986. Information on prodromal symptoms of psychosis and cannabis use was collected using questionnaires at age 15–16 years. Participants were followed up for ICD-10 psychotic disorders until age 30 years using nationwide registers.ResultsThe risk of psychosis was elevated in individuals who had tried cannabis five times or more (hazard ratio, (HR) = 6.5, 95% CI 3.0–13.9). The association remained statistically significant even when adjusted for prodromal symptoms, other substance use and parental psychosis (HR = 3.0, 95% CI 1.1–8.0).ConclusionsAdolescent cannabis use is associated with increased risk of psychosis even after adjustment for baseline prodromal symptoms, parental psychosis and other substance use.Declaration of interestNone.

Bridging Systems to Implement HIV/STI Programming Within the Juvenile Justice System: Strengths and Challenges of a Local Change Team Approach

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (5) ◽  
pp. 432-453
Author(s):  
Sofia Huang ◽  
Sheena Gardner ◽  
Kaitlin N. Piper ◽  
Ashley S. Coleman ◽  
Jennifer E. Becan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Juvenile Justice ◽  
Behavioral Health ◽  
Juvenile Justice System ◽  
Health Agency ◽  
Local Change ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Team Approach ◽  
Agency Staff ◽  
Related Services ◽  
Change Team

Justice-involved youth are at risk for HIV/STIs but do not access services. The complex challenges of improving the delivery of health-related services within juvenile justice (JJ) settings warrant exploration of strategies to close this service gap. This study describes the successes and challenges of utilizing a local change team (LCT) strategy comprising JJ and health agency staff to implement HIV/STI programming in JJ settings, across six counties in six states in the U.S. Five focus groups comprising n = 28 JJ and health agency staff who served as LCT members were conducted. Results demonstrated the structured nature of the collaborative process and strength of commitment among LCT members were necessary for successful implementation of HIV/STI programming. The use of LCTs comprising membership of JJ and (behavioral) health systems has broader applicability to other health and behavioral health issues faced by youth on probation that JJ staff may feel ill equipped to address.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document