Primary Connections for Youth and Families

The goal of this clinical trial is to compare a standard adolescent-only approach to substance use screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment to a in primary care settings. Primary outcomes (AOD use, co-occurring behavior problems, parent-youth communication about AOD use) and secondary outcomes (adolescent quality of life, therapy attendance) are assessed at screen/initial and 3, 6, 9, and 12 months follow-up.

This randomized effectiveness trial compares a standard adolescent-only approach (SBIRT-A-Standard) versus a family-based approach (SBIRT-A-Family) in which caregivers are systematically included in screening, intervention, and referral activities. The study includes N = 2,300 adolescents (age 12 - 17) and their caregivers attending one of three hospital-affiliated pediatric settings serving diverse patients in major urban areas. Study recruitment, initial screening, randomization, and all SBIRT-A activities occur during a single pediatric visit. SBIRT-A procedures are delivered primarily in digital format on hand-held tablets using both patient-facing and provider-facing programming. Primary outcomes (AOD use, co-occurring behavior problems, parent-youth communication about AOD use) and secondary outcomes (adolescent quality of life, therapy attendance) are assessed at screen/initial and 3, 6, 9, and 12 months follow-up. The study is well powered to conduct all planned main and moderator (age, sex, race/ethnicity, youth AOD risk status) analyses.