Screening and Brief Advice to Reduce Teen Substance Use
Screening and Brief Advice to Reduce Teen Substance Use
The purpose of this study is to test the effectiveness of a brief intervention for alcohol
 and drug use in adolescents that a primary care doctor can give in his/her office. The study
 will be conducted in nine primary care offices in three New England states, and in ten
 pediatric offices in Prague, Czech Republic (CZR).

 We hypothesize that:

 1. Among 12-18 year old well care patients who screen positive for drug/alcohol use, the
 experimental intervention administered by trained primary care providers will be more
 effective than standard care in decreasing drug and alcohol use;

 2. Among 12-18 year old well care patients who screen negative for drug/alcohol use, the
 experimental intervention administered by trained primary care providers will be more
 effective than standard care in decreasing initiation of drug and alcohol use as
 measured by self-reports of substance use;

 3. Among 12-18 year old well care patients who are at risk for riding with an impaired
 driver or driving while impaired, the experimental intervention administered by trained
 primary care providers will be more effective than standard care in decreasing
 Riding/Driving risk behavior as measured by a standardized scale.
We are trying to find out the best way for doctors to talk with their adolescent patients
 about alcohol and drug use. Adolescents 12-18 who are coming to their doctor's office for a
 routine well-care or follow-up visit will be invited to participate in the study.
 Participants do not have to have ever used alcohol or drugs. All participants will answer a
 computerized questionnaire about alcohol and drug use three times. The first one will be at
 the time of a doctor's visit. The second time will be three months later and the third time a
 year later. Adolescents who agree to be in the study during the first year will be in the
 'control' group. Their doctor will talk to them about drugs and alcohol the same as he/she
 usually does for all his/her patients. Those who agree to be in the study during the second
 year will be in the 'intervention' group. Everyone in the 'intervention' group will receive
 some advice on the computer about their alcohol and drug use. Their doctor will also give
 them some specific advice about drug and alcohol use. The researchers have chosen what that
 advice will be, and all doctors involved in the study will give advice according to the study
 protocol. Participants and their parents will also be given educational information about
 alcohol and drugs. We will test the effectiveness of the intervention by comparing drug and
 alcohol use between those who are in the 'control' group, and those who are in the
 'intervention' group.

 We we will also validate the Czech version of the CRAFFT screen before conducting the
 effectiveness trial outlined above in the Czech Republic.
Inclusion Criteria:

 12-18 year old patients coming for well care or follow-up visits to one of the study sites,
 All levels of substance use, Able to read and understand English

 Exclusion Criteria:

 Will not be available for 12 month follow-up period, Medically unstable at the time of the
 visit