Advanced Technology for Administration of the Teen-ASI

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): We propose to conduct a clinical trial using a suite of web-based software products as well as a web portal that will help with standardized assessment, treatment planning, referral, and outcomes tracking for adolescent substance abuse treatment. Products will include the automated Internet version of the Self- Report Teen-Addiction Severity Index (SR-T-ASI Net and SR-T-ASI IVR), successfully validated in Phase I, as well as a new Clinician-Modified T-ASI that combines the advantages of self-report surveys and clinician interviews. In addition, we will test a new web portal that generates clinician reports and referral sheets for ancillary treatment. The clinical trial at 4 treatment programs will assess whether longitudinal assessments, feedback reports and referral sheets improve clinical outcomes and process indicators, such as continuity of care. We will conduct longitudinal assessments with 600 adolescents, randomizing them into a High-Feedback (HF) group and a Low-Feedback (LF) control group. In both groups, subjects will take both an initial SR-T-ASI and a CM-T-ASI clinician interview at intake, as well as four follow-up SR-T-ASI assessments over the next 12 months. In the HF group, clinicians will receive feedback reports after each survey administration, as well as referrals to ancillary treatment. For the LF group, clinicians will receive feedback only at intake and no referrals. The proposed study will result in several products: the CM-T-ASI-Net, the SR-T-AS Net, the SR-T-ASI IVR, and a T-ASI web portal that will allow individual clinics to sign up online for outcomes tracking, select instruments, assessment intervals, and report formats. We believe that the products and research proposed in this study have the potential to benefit addiction treatment nation-wide, facilitate research in substance abuse centers, and most importantly, improve outcomes for teens suffering from substance abuse.