SuicidePhase 1NCT02426957
Brief Alcohol Intervention for Adolescents Who Have Attempted Suicide
A Phase 1 study testing motivational enhancement therapy in people with Suicide and Alcohol Drinking, run by Boston Children's Hospital at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
The study will use a two group randomized controlled trial to compare a brief motivational interviewing (MI) intervention to TAU with 50 adolescents psychiatrically hospitalized for a suicide plan or attempt who have co-occurring alcohol use. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 13 to 17 years
- Conditions the study is for
- Suicide, Alcohol Drinking
- What is being tested?
- motivational enhancement therapy
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 50 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- Oct 2014to May 2018
- Phase
- Phase 1
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 13 to 17 years
- All sexes
- No healthy volunteers
- Child
Who may be able to join
- current hospitalization for suicide plan or attempt,
- alcohol use in past month, indicated by selecting 1-6 on Question #1 of the Adolescent Drinking Questionnaire (ADQ) which is currently given to all patients to fill out upon admission to the inpatient psychiatric unit,
- age 13-17, and 4) ability to communicate in English.
Who cannot join
- developmental delay, autism spectrum disorder, or psychosis, per chart review.
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
United States1 site
Boston Children's Hospital
Boston, Massachusetts, 02115
About this study
The study will use a two group randomized controlled trial to compare a brief motivational interviewing (MI) intervention to TAU with 50 adolescents psychiatrically hospitalized for a suicide plan or attempt who have co-occurring alcohol use. Data will be collected via in-person interviews and self-administered questionnaires at baseline and 3 month follow-up assessments to explore outcome changes in negative alcohol expectancies, confidence in ability to handle situations where alcohol is present, likelihood of receiving alcohol treatment, frequency of alcohol use, and suicidal ideation, suicide planning, and suicide attempts for adolescents receiving the intervention relative to TAU.
Read the detailed description
A two group randomized controlled trial will be used to compare the brief MI intervention to TAU with 50 adolescents psychiatrically hospitalized for a suicide plan or attempt who have co-occurring alcohol use. Adolescents admitted to the unit for a suicide plan or attempt will be screened by PI O'Brien or Co-I White within 24 hours of their admission to determine if they meet criteria for alcohol use in past month by selecting 1-6 on Question #1 of the Adolescent Drinking Questionnaire (ADQ). Then Co-I White (or PI O'Brien in the event Co-I White is unavailable) will administer the Drug Use Questionnaire (DUQ), Timeline Follow-back Interview (TLFB), Brief Situational Confidence Questionnaire (BSCQ), Comprehensive Effects of Alcohol (CEOA), Opinions About Alcohol Use (OAAU), Suicide Ideation Questionnaire (SIQ), Inventory of Motivations for Suicide Attempts (IMSA), and a subset of questions from the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS). Once assessment measures are completed, participants will be randomized to either the experimental condition or TAU. Randomization will be accomplished by using an urn randomization procedure used to retain random allocation while balancing relative probabilities of assignment to treatment groups. Urn randomization in contrast to simple or block randomization is dynamic; the probability of treatment assignment changes dependent on the degree of treatment imbalance throughout the course of the trial. We will randomize by 1) ADQ score (i.e., adolescents scoring <4 which indicates drinking at least 2-3 times per week) and 2) gender. The adolescent will receive the individual MI intervention in a private room on the inpatient psychiatric unit; the family intervention will be delivered in a private room on the unit, ideally the next day. After the intervention the adolescent will complete the exit interview and Session Evaluation Form (SEF) to assess acceptability. Once a discharge date is made for the participant, PI O'Brien or Co-I White will schedule a 3 month follow-up appointments with the adolescent and guardian; the ADQ, DUQ, TLFB, BSCQ, CEOA, SIQ, IMSA, and C-SSRS will be readministered at the follow-up assessment in a private room in the visitors' area of the inpatient psychiatric unit by RA Wigglesworth, so that the clinician conducting the assessment is blind to condition.
- Conditions
- Suicide, Alcohol Drinking
- Being tested
- motivational enhancement therapy
- Medical subject headings
- Suicide, Alcohol Drinking
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
motivational enhancement therapyBehavioural
The intervention consists of the following components: establishing rapport, assessing motivation for change, enhancing motivation for change, envisioning the future, establishing goals, and completing goals, strategies, and change plan worksheets.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Motivational Enhancement Therapy | Experimental | The 60-90 minute intervention consists of the following components: establishing rapport, assessing motivation for change, enhancing motivation for change, envisioning the future, establishing goals, and completing goals, strategies, and change plan worksheets. Personalized feedback for the intervention will be derived from the assessment battery and will be provided in both written and graphic formats. In addition to the 60-90 minute MI intervention delivered to the adolescent, a 30-45 minute intervention will be conducted with the adolescent and parent(s) the following day, in which the adolescent will review the goals, strategies, and change plan worksheets with the parent(s), facilitated by the therapist. Receives: Behavioral: motivational enhancement therapy |
| Treatment As Usual | No intervention | Treatment As Usual on inpatient psychiatric unit |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
alcohol use
Adolescent Drinking Questionnaire (ADQ). The ADQ is a 6 item self-report measure assessing drinking frequency (days per month), quantity (drinks per occasion), frequency of high-volume drinking (≥ 5 drinks per occasion), and frequency of intoxication (feeling "drunk" or "very, very high"), over the past month.
Timeline Follow-back Interview (TLFB). The TLFB is a widely-used research and clinical assessment tool with good reliability and validity for various groups of individuals with alcohol use problems. The TLFB collects alcohol and drug consumption information using a calendar format with temporal cues to assist in recall of days when alcohol and drugs were used, and can be used to simultaneously recall other behaviors, such as suicidal ideation and attempts. The TLFB will be conducted using the prior 30 days at baseline and each follow-up.
Measured: 3 months
Secondary outcomes (1)
suicidal ideation
Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS). The C-SSRS assesses the range of suicidal behavior including preparatory acts, aborted attempt and interrupted attempt, and passive and active suicidal ideation, as well as intensity of ideation. To avoid redundancies in measures, we will not administer the intensity of ideation section to the participant, as some of that construct is captured by the SIQ. At follow-up, suicidality will be assessed only since the last assessment.
Suicide Ideation Questionnaire (SIQ). The SIQ is a 30 item self-report instrument that assesses suicidal ideation in adolescents over the past month. Items are rated on a 7-point Likert scale (0=I never had this thought, to 6=almost every day). Coefficient alpha internal consistency measures for the SIQ have been reported at 0.97 as well as good construct validity.
Measured: 3 months
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted27 Apr 2015 (estimated)
- Study startOct 2014
- Primary completionMay 2018
- Study completionMay 2018
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for SuicideStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by Boston Children's HospitalThe sponsor's other registered studies.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase 1
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Single group
- Masking
- Single blind
- Who is masked
- Outcomes assessor
- Enrolment
- 50 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Boston Children's Hospital
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Kimberly H. McManama O'Brien, Boston Children's Hospital
- Investigators
- Kimberly O'Brien, Principal investigator, Boston Children's Hospital
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT02426957
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- A00013929
- Status last verified
- Jul 2018
- First submitted
- 26 Mar 2015
- Last updated
- 24 Jul 2018
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- Yes
- Individual data sharing
- Undecided
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 24 Jul 2018. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Brief Alcohol Intervention for Adolescents Who Have Attempted Suicide
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT02426957
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- A00013929
- Conditions
- Suicide, Alcohol Drinking
- Phase
- Phase 1
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 50 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- Boston Children's HospitalUniversity, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
- Study start
- Oct 2014
- Primary completion
- May 2018 (actual)
- Study completion
- May 2018 (actual)
- First posted
- 27 Apr 2015 (estimated)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
The study will use a two group randomized controlled trial to compare a brief motivational interviewing (MI) intervention to TAU with 50 adolescents psychiatrically hospitalized for a suicide plan or attempt who have co-occurring alcohol use. Data will be collected via in-person interviews and self-administered questionnaires at baseline and 3 month follow-up assessments to explore outcome changes in negative alcohol expectancies, confidence in ability to handle situations where alcohol is present, likelihood of receiving alcohol treatment, frequency of alcohol use, and suicidal ideation, suicide planning, and suicide attempts for adolescents receiving the intervention relative to TAU.
Detailed description
A two group randomized controlled trial will be used to compare the brief MI intervention to TAU with 50 adolescents psychiatrically hospitalized for a suicide plan or attempt who have co-occurring alcohol use. Adolescents admitted to the unit for a suicide plan or attempt will be screened by PI O'Brien or Co-I White within 24 hours of their admission to determine if they meet criteria for alcohol use in past month by selecting 1-6 on Question #1 of the Adolescent Drinking Questionnaire (ADQ). Then Co-I White (or PI O'Brien in the event Co-I White is unavailable) will administer the Drug Use Questionnaire (DUQ), Timeline Follow-back Interview (TLFB), Brief Situational Confidence Questionnaire (BSCQ), Comprehensive Effects of Alcohol (CEOA), Opinions About Alcohol Use (OAAU), Suicide Ideation Questionnaire (SIQ), Inventory of Motivations for Suicide Attempts (IMSA), and a subset of questions from the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS). Once assessment measures are completed, participants will be randomized to either the experimental condition or TAU. Randomization will be accomplished by using an urn randomization procedure used to retain random allocation while balancing relative probabilities of assignment to treatment groups. Urn randomization in contrast to simple or block randomization is dynamic; the probability of treatment assignment changes dependent on the degree of treatment imbalance throughout the course of the trial. We will randomize by 1) ADQ score (i.e., adolescents scoring <4 which indicates drinking at least 2-3 times per week) and 2) gender. The adolescent will receive the individual MI intervention in a private room on the inpatient psychiatric unit; the family intervention will be delivered in a private room on the unit, ideally the next day. After the intervention the adolescent will complete the exit interview and Session Evaluation Form (SEF) to assess acceptability. Once a discharge date is made for the participant, PI O'Brien or Co-I White will schedule a 3 month follow-up appointments with the adolescent and guardian; the ADQ, DUQ, TLFB, BSCQ, CEOA, SIQ, IMSA, and C-SSRS will be readministered at the follow-up assessment in a private room in the visitors' area of the inpatient psychiatric unit by RA Wigglesworth, so that the clinician conducting the assessment is blind to condition.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Single group
- Masking
- Single blind (outcomes assessor)
- Number of arms
- 2
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Motivational Enhancement Therapy | Experimental | Behavioral: motivational enhancement therapyThe 60-90 minute intervention consists of the following components: establishing rapport, assessing motivation for change, enhancing motivation for change, envisioning the future, establishing goals, and completing goals, strategies, and change plan worksheets. Personalized feedback for the intervention will be derived from the assessment battery and will be provided in both written and graphic formats. In addition to the 60-90 minute MI intervention delivered to the adolescent, a 30-45 minute intervention will be conducted with the adolescent and parent(s) the following day, in which the adolescent will review the goals, strategies, and change plan worksheets with the parent(s), facilitated by the therapist. |
| Treatment As Usual | No intervention | –Treatment As Usual on inpatient psychiatric unit |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 13 to 17 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Not accepted
- Age groups
- Child
Key inclusion criteria (3 listed)
- current hospitalization for suicide plan or attempt,
- alcohol use in past month, indicated by selecting 1-6 on Question #1 of the Adolescent Drinking Questionnaire (ADQ) which is currently given to all patients to fill out upon admission to the inpatient psychiatric unit,
- age 13-17, and 4) ability to communicate in English.
Key exclusion criteria (1 listed)
- developmental delay, autism spectrum disorder, or psychosis, per chart review.
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| motivational enhancement therapyThe intervention consists of the following components: establishing rapport, assessing motivation for change, enhancing motivation for change, envisioning the future, establishing goals, and completing goals, strategies, and change plan worksheets. | Behavioural | Motivational Enhancement Therapy |
Primary outcome
alcohol use
Time frame: 3 months
Adolescent Drinking Questionnaire (ADQ). The ADQ is a 6 item self-report measure assessing drinking frequency (days per month), quantity (drinks per occasion), frequency of high-volume drinking (≥ 5 drinks per occasion), and frequency of intoxication (feeling "drunk" or "very, very high"), over the past month. Timeline Follow-back Interview (TLFB). The TLFB is a widely-used research and clinical assessment tool with good reliability and validity for various groups of individuals with alcohol use problems. The TLFB collects alcohol and drug consumption information using a calendar format with temporal cues to assist in recall of days when alcohol and drugs were used, and can be used to simultaneously recall other behaviors, such as suicidal ideation and attempts. The TLFB will be conducted using the prior 30 days at baseline and each follow-up.
1 secondary outcome
suicidal ideation
Time frame: 3 months
Results and safety
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 24 Jul 2018.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: Undecided
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
Kimberly O'Brien principal investigator
Boston Children's Hospital
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A Phase 1 study testing motivational enhancement therapy in people with Suicide and Alcohol Drinking, run by Boston Children's Hospital at 1 site in United States.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 3 inclusion and 1 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 24 Jul 2018. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
What does this phase mean?
Phase 1 studies test a treatment in a small group of people for the first time or in a new way, mainly to check safety and find the right dose.
Not every study follows the same path, and some studies (observational studies, device studies) have no phase.
Are results available for this study?
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
alcohol use (time frame: 3 months). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 24 Jul 2018; AzTrials last refreshed its copy on 7 Nov 2026.