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Exposure to the Adolescent Community Reinforcement Approach (A-CRA) and Mechanisms of Change for Substance Use and Illegal Activity. Brooke Hunter & Susan H. Godley – Chestnut Health Systems Matthew Hesson-McInnis – Illinois State University
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Exposure to the Adolescent Community Reinforcement Approach (A-CRA) and Mechanisms of Change for Substance Use and Illegal Activity Brooke Hunter & Susan H. Godley – Chestnut Health Systems Matthew Hesson-McInnis – Illinois State University Hendrik Roozen – Erasmus University Medical Centre, the Netherlands Joint Meeting on Adolescent Treatment Effectiveness Washington, D.C. Tuesday April 10, 2012
Acknowledgements • Special thanks to Drs. Susan Godley, Matthew Hesson-McInnis and Hendrik Roozen for their collaboration on this study. • Funding for this work has been provided by SAMSHA/CSAT (HHSS270200700004C) • The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not reflect official positions of the contributing grantees’ project directors or the federal government.
Learning Objectives • Do adolescents who receive A-CRA experience reductions in illegal activity and juvenile justice system involvement? • What are the mechanisms of change for substance use and illegal activity within the treatment context? • Does exposure to A-CRA indirectly impact juvenile justice system involvement through reductions in substance use and illegal activity?
Co-Occurrence of Substance Use and Illegal Activity • There is a well established correlation between substance use and illegal activity • e.g., Donovan & Jessor, 1985; Elliot, Huizinga, & Menard, 1989; Loeber, Stouthamer-Loeber, & White, 1999 • ~ 49% - 70% of adolescents in substance use treatment were involved with the justice system • TEDS, 2008; Godley, Garner, Smith, Meyers, & Godley, 2011 • 2.4 million adolescents were arrested in 2000 • 38% self-reported substance use • 54% tested positive for an illicit substance • Only 13.5% were arrested for a drug or alcohol violation • National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, 2004
Increased Risk • Adolescents who use: • Alcohol are 2 times more likely to be arrested • Marijuana are 3.5 times more likely to be arrested • Cocaine are 9 times more likely to be arrested • Heroin are 20 times more likely to be arrested • Horowitz et al., 2006 • Each conviction of a criminal charge increases the likelihood that an adolescent will become an adult felon
Theories of Causation: What mechanisms underlie the relationship between substance use and illegal activity?
Treatment of Co-occurring Substance Use and Illegal Activity • Experts have identified key Elements of adolescent substance use treatment • Brannigan et al., 2004 • Drug Strategies: Bridging the Gap, 2005 – substance use treatment in the juvenile justice system • e.g., thorough assessments, developmentally appropriate, qualified therapists, family involvement, continuing care, etc. • A-CRA treatment protocol exhibits best practices
Aims of Current Study • Does A-CRA directly reduce illegal activity? • Does A-CRA indirectly reduce illegal activity through reductions in substance use? • Does A-CRA indirectly reduce substance use through reductions in illegal activity? • Does A-CRA reduce involvement with the juvenile justice system through reductions in substance use or illegal activity?
Baseline 6 month 12 month A-CRA Exposure Scale Alcohol & Other Drug Use Alcohol & Other Drug Use Alcohol & Other Drug Use Illegal Activity Scale Illegal Activity Scale Illegal Activity Scale Criminal Justice System Index Criminal Justice System Index Hypothesized Model
Participants • Adolescents who presented to substance use treatment and reported involvement in illegal activities during past year • 44 organizations located across the nation receiving federal funding to implement the Adolescent Community Reinforcement Approach • 1,467 adolescents
Treatment Plan • Adolescent Community Reinforcement Approach – 3 months of treatment • 10 adolescent sessions • 2 caregiver sessions • 2 family sessions • Assertive Continuing Care – 3 months of home based A-CRA plus enhance case management • A-CRA includes 18 possible procedures, which can be repeated multiple times
Analytic Plan • Sample was split into two sub-samples • Model development sample • Model validation sample • Multiple groups analysis was used to cross-validate the final model • Mediation analysis with a bootstrapping procedure was conducted to further examine the relationship between A-CRA exposure and illegal activity
Baseline 6 month 12 month A-CRA Exposure Scale -.11 Alcohol & Other Drug Use Alcohol & Other Drug Use .42 Alcohol & Other Drug Use .24 .14 .26 .25 .27 Illegal Activity Scale .23 Illegal Activity Scale Illegal Activity Scale .29 -.08 .12 -.13 Criminal Justice System Index .22 Criminal Justice System Index Results
A-CRA Exposure path c Illegal Activity p = .00 Alcohol & Other Drug Use p = .00 p = .00 path b path a path c’ Illegal Activity A-CRA Exposure p = .04 Alcohol & Other Drug Use was a significant mediator according bootstrap 95% CI (-.0011, -.0003). Mediation
Main Findings • A-CRA exposure directly reduced both substance use and illegal activity • A-CRA exposure indirectly reduced illegal activity through reductions in substance use (partial mediation) • A-CRA exposure reduced involvement with the juvenile justice system through reductions in substance use and illegal activity
Implications • Substance use treatment is important for this population not only because it impacts substance use, but also because it impacts illegal activity and juvenile justice involvement • Reductions in juvenile justice involvement result in reduced costs to society
Strengths • Large sample size • Cross-validation of path model • Longitudinal design • Diverse multi-site sample of adolescents
Limitations • Self reported intake and follow up assessments • Lack of experimental design: cannot establish causal relationship of treatment on outcomes
Future Research • Is the model developed in the current study invariant by sub-groups (e.g., gender, race, or type of crimes committed)? • Are specific A-CRA procedures (e.g., anger management, increasing pro-social behavior) more important for adolescent who are engaging in criminal behavior? • What additional mediators explain the relationship between A-CRA exposure and illegal activity?
References • Brannigan, R., Schackman, B. R., Falco, M., & Millman, R. B. (2004). The quality of highly regarded adolescent substance abuse treatment programs, results of an in-depth national survey. Archives Pediatric Adolescent Medicine, 158, 904-909. • Donovan, J. E. & Jessor, R. (1985). Structure of problem behavior in adolescence and young adulthood. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 53(6), 890–904. • Elliott, D., Huizinga, D., & Menard, S. (1989). Multiple problem youth: Delinquency, substance use, and mental health problems. New York, NY: Springer-Verlag. • Drug Strategies. (2005). Bridging the Gap: A Guide to Drug Treatment in the Juvenile • Justice System. Washington: Drug Strategies. • Loeber, R., Stouthamer-Loeber, M., & White, H. R. (1999). Developmental aspects of delinquency and internalizing problems and their association with persistent juvenile substance use between ages 7 and 18. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 28(3), 322–332. • Godley, S. H., Garner, B. R., Smith, J. E., Meyers, R. J., & Godley, M. D. (2011). A large-scale dissemination and implementation model for evidence-based treatment and continuing care. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice,18(1), 67-83. • Horowitz, H., Sung, H.-E., & Foster, S. E. (2006). The role of substance abuse in U.S. juvenile justice systems and populations. Corrections Compendium, 31(1), 1-4, 24-26. • National Center on Addiction and Substance Use. (2004). Criminal neglect: Substance abuse, juvenile justice and the children left behind. New York: Columbia University. • United States Department of Health and Human Services. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Office of Applied Bibliographic Citation: Studies. Treatment Episode Data Set -- Admissions (TEDS-A), 2008 [Computer file]. ICPSR27241-v3. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2010-03-31.
Thank you! If you have any questions regarding this presentation please contact: Brooke Hunter, M.S. Lighthouse Institute Chestnut Health Systems 448 Wylie Drive Normal, IL 61761 bdhunter@chestnut.org