GET-IT (COMPLETED)

Group Enhancement for Teens in Treatment (GET-IT) was a National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)-funded (5R21AA015679), 2-year project to understand factors influencing group treatment effectiveness among adolescents with alcohol and other drugs (AOD) problems. The project examined the influence of conduct disorder (CD) in group composition (i.e., proportion of CD among group members), disruptive behavior in group (i.e., antisocial behavior and deviancy), and group leader behaviors (i.e., negative and positive) on changes in AOD use over time. The study tested whether the interactions of group leader behaviors with group disruptive behavior mediated changes in the trajectory of AOD behaviors over sessions and through follow-up. The ultimate aim of the project was to improve group approaches to adolescents with AOD problems.

Principal Investigator: Mark Macgowan, Ph.D.

Co-Investigator: Eric Wagner, Ph.D.

References:

• Macgowan, M.J., & Engle, B. (2010). Evidence for optimism: Behavior therapies and motivational interviewing in adolescent substance abuse treatment. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics, 19(3), 527-545. doi:10.1016/j.chc.2010.03.006

• Macgowan, M.J., & Wagner, E.F. (2005). Iatrogenic effects of group treatment on adolescents with conduct and substance use problems: A review of the literature and a presentation of a model. Journal of Evidence-Based Social Work, 2(1-2), 79-90. doi:10.1300/J394v02n01_05