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Parent SMART (Substance Misuse in Adolescents in Residential Treatment)

Improving Outcomes of Adolescents in Residential Substance Use Treatment Via a Technology-Assisted Parenting Intervention

Who can join

Ages 12 to 18 · All sexes

Inclusion Criteria for Adolescents:

* admitted to residential treatment due to concerns about frequency and/or severity of substance use
* report alcohol and/or drug use in the past 90 days
* be discharged to live with primary guardian
* fluent in English or Spanish
* willing and able to participate in a 2 hour interview prior to discharge from residential

Exclusion Criteria for Adolescents:

* does not report alcohol or drug use in the past 90 days
* discharge plan does not include living with primary guardian
* not fluent in English or Spanish
* not willing or able to complete baseline interview

Inclusion Criteria for Parents:

* parent or legal guardian of adolescent aged 12-18 years inclusive, at project start
* adolescent admitted to residential treatment due to concerns about frequency and/or severity of substance use
* will be primary guardian living with adolescent after discharge from residential
* fluent in English or Spanish
* willing and able to complete the baseline assessment prior to the adolescent's discharge
* access to a smartphone that can receive text messages and reliably access the internet

Exclusion Criteria for Parents:

* not legal guardian of adolescent or adolescent not aged between 12-18 years
* adolescent not admitted to residential treatment due to substance use concerns
* will not be living with adolescent after adolescent's discharge from residential
* not fluent in English or Spanish
* not willing or able to complete the baseline assessment prior to the adolescent's discharge
* does not have access to a smartphone that can receive text messages and reliably access the internet

About the study

Adolescents in residential substance use treatment have serious substance-related problems and poor outcomes following discharge: follow-up studies indicate that 60% of adolescents treated in residential treatment will relapse within the first 90 days. Parenting practices have been established as a critical predictor of adolescents' substance use outcomes and likelihood of relapse following treatments, but parents are notoriously difficult to engage in adolescent substance use treatment. Findings such as these provide strong justification for targeting parents of adolescents in residential substance use treatment via easily accessible interventions.

This study tests the effectiveness of a technology-assisted parenting intervention called Parent SMART (Substance Misuse among Adolescents in Residential Treatment). The intervention combines an off-the-shelf computer program that teaches parenting skills called Parenting Wisely, four telehealth coaching sessions, and a networking forum that allows parents to connect with a clinical expert and with other parents. The investigators will compare adolescents who receive standard residential substance use treatment to adolescents who receive the same treatment plus whose parents receive Parent SMART. Investigators will test the comparative effectiveness of Parent SMART versus residential treatment as usual on parental monitoring and communication, adolescent substance use (i.e., days of substance use and substance-related problems), and substance-related high-risk behaviors (i.e., school-related problems, criminal involvement, externalizing behavior). The investigators will also test whether improvements in parenting partially mediate any observed changes in adolescent substance use and other high-risk behaviors.

What is being tested

• Parent SMART (behavioral)
• Treatment as Usual (behavioral)

Sponsor: Brown University · Participants: 220 · Started: Mar 1, 2022

Contact the study team

• Sara J Becker, Ph.D. · Phone: 312-503-4203
• Sarah Helseth, Ph.D. · Phone: 312-503-4203

Official record on ClinicalTrials.gov — NCT05169385

Locations in the U.S.

Conditions

• Drug Use and Addiction
• Teen Violence

From ClinicalTrials.gov, data retrieved Oct 2, 2026. Each study sets its own eligibility; the study team decides who can join.