Trial Summary
What is the purpose of this trial?This trial tests a program that helps parents talk to their kids about drugs and alcohol during family meals. It targets parents of kids in grades 5-7. The program includes a session, regular calls, and text message tips to improve family communication and prevent substance use.
Eligibility Criteria
This trial is for parents or guardians with a child in 5th-7th grade, who live with the child at least half the time. They must be able to understand English or Spanish well enough to participate in study procedures and agree to discuss substance use harms during family meals.Inclusion Criteria
Parental consent and child assent are obtained.
I am the custodial parent and live with my child at least half the time.
My child is in 5th to 7th grade at the project's start.
Exclusion Criteria
Parents or families who are not able to speak, read, and understand English or Spanish well enough to complete study procedures.
My child has a developmental disability that makes understanding assessments hard.
Participant Groups
The study tests a new way of preventing substance misuse by improving parent-child communication. It encourages families to spend quality time together, particularly during meals, where they can talk about the dangers of alcohol and drug use.
2Treatment groups
Experimental Treatment
Active Control
Group I: Substance Use Prevention InterventionExperimental Treatment1 Intervention
Parents will be given a handbook specific to the gender of their child that provides information and advice communication and substance use prevention. Parents will then participate in a one-hour session with an interventionist where the main points in the handbook will be reviewed and they will fill out an action plan on how to make changes in communication about substances with their child. The interventionist will also provide parents with a referral packet. Two weeks after the live session, participants will have a half-hour follow-up phone call with the same study interventionist. For the home-based component, parents will receive two messages each week with reminders and tips that reinforce the information covered in the handbook. Finally, participants will receive a magnet about the importance of family meals that they will be instructed to put on their refrigerators.
Group II: Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Weight Talk ComparisonActive Control1 Intervention
For the comparison condition, after the baseline assessment, parents will receive a handbook on nutrition and physical activity entitled: "Healthy Eating \& Physical Activity Across Your Lifespan: Helping your Child - Tips for Parents". This handbook, which is adapted from the handbook developed by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases and the Weight Control Information Network, is approximately the same length as the intervention handbook and is available in English and Spanish. It is given with an insert on reducing weight talk and weight teasing in the family. Parents will also receive a magnet with a message about nutrition and exercise. To control for contact time, these participants will meet live with a study staff member two weeks after receiving the handbook, complete an action plan, and have the 30-minute call, as well as receive two text messages twice per week for 13 weeks with tips and reminders from the comparison handbook and insert.
Find a Clinic Near You
Research Locations NearbySelect from list below to view details:
Tufts University School of MedicineBoston, MA
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Who Is Running the Clinical Trial?
Tufts UniversityLead Sponsor
Brown UniversityCollaborator