Using Mobile Technology to Enhance MST Outcomes

PROJECT SUMMARY ABSTRACTEach yearover one million adolescents are arrestedmany more engage in other serious conduct problemsincluding binge drinkingillicit drug useand school drop outCollectivelythese problems result in enormous costs to individualsfamiliesand societyThe most effective interventions to address these problems are family basedwith a strong clinical emphasis on helping parents better manage youth behavior through increased monitoring of activitiesconsistent use of contingencies to reward appropriate behaviorand enhancing intrinsic motivation toward prosocial behaviorAlthough empirically supported treatmentsESTslike Multisystemic TherapyMSTexistthey are expensive and time intensivethus limiting their public health impactWe seek to developevaluateand commercialize a linked parent youth mobile app systemVillageWhereVWto support the key treatment targets of EBTs for this populationclear parental expectationsparental monitoringdiscipline consistencyand parental supportwhile simultaneously cultivating intrinsic motivation in youth toward prosocial behaviorsWhen used in conjunction with an EST for delinquent youthVW could help reduce treatment length and costWhen provided in non EST clinical settingsVW may increase access to state of the art clinical techniques to those who might not otherwise receive themIn Phase Iwe developed and tested the usabilityacceptabilityand feasibility of VW with serious juvenile offenders and their parents receiving MSTProof of concept was determined in two phasesa formativeevaluationto test usability and acceptability with feedback from target end users and stakeholdersand a summative evaluationto test feasibility in a four week within subjects pilot study where parent youth dyads used VWConsistent with initial hypothesesVW was well liked by parents and teensrated as usefulimproved parental management practicesand reduced parental stressIn Phase IIwe propose to accomplish the following aimscomplete the development of VW by expanding its featuresincluding creating an iPhone version of VW to expand its reach and impactcreatean advisory board to guide additional features and processes to ensure its usabilityacceptabilityandreadiness for commercial success in Phase IIIconduct usability and acceptability tests of all new features for all target end usersandconduct aweek randomized controlled trial comparing VW to an attention control mobile app to evaluate its effectiveness across four time points withparent youth dyads across the spectrum of clinically significant conduct disorder severityIn comparison to study controlswe expect VW will significantly increase parental structuring of youth behaviorparental monitoringgreater effectiveness and consistency in providing rewards for meeting expectationsparenting efficacyand warm parent youth communicationand will decrease parent report of life stress as well as youthsexternalizing behaviorsincluding reports of delinquent and substance using behaviors