Our Projects – Center for Adolescent Behavioral Health Research

ASPIRE

MPI: Harris, Shrier
Alcohol contributes to over 93,000 deaths, and the loss of 2.7 million years of potential life in the U.S. each year. Alcohol use disorders frequently have a pediatric origin, and pediatric primary care offices, where the majority of adolescents receive health care, are a promising venue for early identification and intervention through screening and brief counseling. The goal of the ASPIRE (Adolescent Substance use Prevention Intervention Research) study is to address the evidence gap in primary care-based alcohol screening and brief intervention for adolescents. ASPIRE is a large, multi-site, cluster-randomized effectiveness trial comparing a computer-facilitated Screening and Brief Intervention (cSBI) system to usual care in patients ages 14 to 17 arriving for well-visits at pediatric primary care practices within the national American Academy of Pediatric Research in Office Settings (PROS) network.
Publications

Shrier LA, O’Connell MM, Torres A, Shone LP, Fiks AG, Plumb JA, Maturo JL, McCaskill NH, Harris D, Burke PJ, Felt T, Murphy ML, Sherritt L, Harris SK. Computer-facilitated Screening and Brief Intervention for Alcohol Use Risk in Adolescent Patients of Pediatric Primary Care: Protocol for a Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial. JMIR Research Protocols. 05/02/2024:55039 (forthcoming/in press). DOI: 10.2196/55039

Gibson EB, Knight JR, Levinson J, Sherritt L, Harris SK. Pediatric primary care provider perspectives on a computer-facilitated screening and brief intervention system for adolescent substance use. Journal of Adolescent Health. In press.Knight JR, Sherritt L, Gibson EB, Levinson J, Grubb LK, Samuels RC, Silva T, Vernacchio L, Wornham W, Harris SK. Effect of computer-based substance use screening and brief behavioral counseling vs. usual care for adolescents in pediatric primary care: a pilot randomized clinical trial. JAMA Network Open. 2019 Jun 5;2(6):e196258. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.6258.

Knight JR, Csemy L, Sherritt L, Starostova O, Van Hook S, Bacic J, Finlay C, Tauber J, Brooks T, Kossack R, Kulig JW, Shaw J, Harris SK. Screening and brief advice to reduce adolescents’ risk of riding with substance-using drivers. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. 2018;79(4):611–616.

Knight, JR, Kuzubova K, Csemy L, Sherritt L, Copelas S, Harris SK. Computer-facilitated screening and brief advice to reduce adolescents’ heavy episodic drinking: a study in two countries. Journal of Adolescent Health. 2018 Jan;62(1):118-120. doi: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2017.08.013. PMID: 29054734

Harris SK, Knight JR, Van Hook S, Sherritt L, Brooks T, Kulig JW, Nordt C, Saitz R. Adolescent substance use screening in primary care: Validity of computer self-administered versus clinician-administered screening. Substance Abuse. 2016 Jan-Mar;37(1):197-203. PMCID: 4573375

Louis-Jacques J, Knight JR, Sherritt L, Van Hook S, Harris SK. Do risky friends change the efficacy of a primary care brief intervention for adolescent alcohol use? Journal of Adolescent Health. 2014;54:449-453.

Harris SK, Csemy L, Sherritt L, Starostova O, Van Hook, Johnson J, Boulter S, Brooks T, Carey P, Kossack R, Kulig JW, Van Vranken N, Knight JR. Computer-facilitated substance use screening and brief advice for teens in primary care: an international trial. Pediatrics. 2012 Jun;129(6):1072-82.

Knight JR, Harris SK, Sherritt L, Van Hook S, Lawrence N, Brooks T, Carey P, Kossack R, Kulig J, and the New England Partnership for Substance Abuse Research. Adolescents’ preferences for substance abuse screening in primary care practice. Substance Abuse. 2007;28(4):107-117.

Knight JR, Harris SK, Sherritt L, Van Hook S, Lawrence N, Brooks T, Carey P, Kossack R, Kulig J, and the New England Partnership for Substance Abuse Research. Prevalence of positive substance abuse screens among adolescent primary care patients. Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine. 2007(Nov);161(11)1035-1041.

Van Hook S, Harris SK, Brooks T, Carey P, Kossack R, Kulig J, Knight JR. The “Six T’s”: Barriers to screening teens for substance abuse in primary care. Journal of Adolescent Health. 2007(May);40(5):456-461.

CRAFFT Interactive in CHADIS

PI: Howard, Sturner, Harris, Shrier
The purpose of the this project is to integrate a computer-facilitated CRAFFT screening and clinician brief counseling system into the CHADIS online clinical process support tool (www.chadis.com) to support pediatric primary care clinicians more effectively addressing substance use in their adolescent patients. The project includes development of a new adolescent substance use module in the CHADIS system, informed by both clinician and teen feedback, and testing its implementation and efficacy outcomes in a multi-site quality improvement trial.
Publications

GROW Zambia

PI: Harris, Seale
The GROW Zambia project was a pilot randomized controlled trial of the GROW (Global Resilience Oral Workshop) curriculum among young adolescents in Zambia. GROW is a spiritually-based character strengths and resiliency training curriculum developed by Dana Seale, MAPP, to strengthen youth resilience and hope, and reduce risk for substance use and related risk behaviors. Each curriculum lesson teaches one of the 24 character strengths from positive psychology, and utilizes evidence-based teaching strategies to make the lesson engaging and interactive. The Zambian trial was the first large implementation and efficacy trial of GROW in the world. More information about the program and trial results can be found at www.growglobalresilience.com.

MARSSI

PI: Shrier
MARSSI (Momentary Affect Regulation – Safer Sex Intervention) aims to reduce unintended pregnancy among young women with depression by combining clinic-based counseling with mobile technology. The MARSSI program offers brief sexual risk reduction counseling and cognitive-behavioral skill teaching in a clinical setting. At home, mobile technology supports self-monitoring, and provides real-time, context-responsive messaging for young women reporting poor affective states or maladaptive cognitive states.
Publications

O’Connell M, Gluskin B, Parker S, Burke PJ, Pluhar E, Guss CE, Shrier LA. Adapting a Counseling-Plus-mHealth Intervention for the Virtual Environment to Reduce Sexual and Reproductive Health Risk Among Young Women with Depression. Prev Sci. 2023 Dec;24(Suppl 2):196-208. doi: 10.1007/s11121-023-01506-4.
On developing and pilot-testing MARSSI-V, the virtual adaptation of MARSSI
Open Access

Gluskin BS, O’Connell M, Falk G, Shrier LA, Guss CE. COVID-19 impacts and videoconference healthcare preferences in relation to depression and sexual risk behaviors among young adults assigned female at birth: a cross-sectional study. Mhealth. 2023 Apr 3;9:15. doi: 10.21037/mhealth-22-38.
On the relationship between telehealth, COVID-19 impacts on healthcare, depression, and sexual health risks
Open Access

Shrier LA, Burke PJ, Jonestrask C, Katz-Wise SL. Applying systems thinking and human-centered design to development of intervention implementation strategies: An example from adolescent health research. J Public Health Res. 2020 Oct 14;9(4):1746. doi: 10.4081/jphr.2020.1746.
Open Access

Katz-Wise SL, Gordon AR, Burke PJ, Jonestrask C, Shrier LA. Healthcare clinician and staff perspectives on facilitators and barriers to ideal sexual health care to high-risk depressed young women: a qualitative study of diverse clinic systems. J Pediatr Adolesc Gynecol 2020. Online 2020 Mar 5;S1083-3188(20)30165-0. doi: 10.1016/j.jpag.2020.02.012.
On clinic staff’s perceptions on facilitators and barriers to sexual health care for depressed young women
Abstract (For access to the full text, please contact our team)

Shrier LA, Burke PJ, Parker S, et al. Development and pilot testing of a counseling-plus-mhealth intervention to reduce risk for pregnancy and sexually transmitted infection in young women with depression. mHealth. 2020;6:17.
On developing and pilot-testing MARSSI
Open Access

Burke PJ, Katz-Wise SL, Spalding A, Shrier LA. Intimate relationships and sexual behavior in young women with depression. J Adolesc Health. 2018;63:429-434.
A qualitative study of intimate relationships and sexual behavior in young women with depression
Abstract (For access to the full text, please contact our team)

Shrier LA, Spalding A. “Just take a moment and breathe and think”: young women with depression talk about the development of an ecological momentary intervention to reduce their sexual risk. J Pediatr Adolesc Gynecol. 2017;30:116-122.
Young women with depression’s perceptions and feedback on an mhealth intervention (MARSSI) to reduce sexual risk behavior
Abstract (For access to the full text, please contact our team)

MOMENT

PI: Shrier
The MOMENT (Momentary Self-Monitoring and Feedback + Motivational Enhancement Therapy) ecological momentary intervention combines substance use counseling with smartphone-based messaging technology. Cannabis-using youth ages 15 to 24 randomized to the intervention group use their smartphone to monitor their cannabis use as well as triggers, desire, and effort to not use, and they receive real-time, context-responsive motivational messages. The MOMENT intervention has been evaluated for its feasibility and intervention effects, showing high feasibility and promising outcomes in a primary care setting.
Publications

Safer Sex Intervention

PI: Shrier
The Safer Sex Intervention is designed to reduce sexual risk behaviors and prevent the recurrence of sexually transmitted infection (STI) among young women ages 12 to 23 diagnosed with an STI. This clinic-based, individualized intervention is delivered at the time of STI diagnosis and/or treatment by a female health educator in one 30- to 50-minute session. One of two interventions will guide the session, based on the young woman’s discussion with the health educator and self-identified stage of behavior change.
Publications

SEE-ME/Think Aloud

PI: Woodberry, BCH Site PI: Shrier
The SEE-ME (Screening for Early and Emerging Mental Experiences) study pilot tests a 23-item scale assessing recent psychotic-like experiences among youth ages 14 to 21. These questions are designed to fill a gap in primary care psychosis screening and treatment, as there is a lack of consensus around whether all youth should be screened for psychotic symptoms. The questionnaire will be compared to the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), a validated depression screening tool, for overlap.

Substance Use and Adolescent Brain Development

PI: Silveri
This project was a collaborative effort between Dr. Sion Kim Harris and Dr. Marisa Silveri, director of the Neurodevelopmental Laboratory on Addictions and Mental Health (NLAMH) at McLean Hospital. The aim of this longitudinal multi-modal brain imaging study was to ascertain the effects of alcohol use initiation among early adolescents (ages 13-14) on brain structure/connectivity and cognition using multiple magnetic resonance-based imaging approaches (MRI, fMRI, DTI, MRS) and neuropsychological assessments over 3 years of follow-up.
Publications