Overview of CTRADA

The Center for Treatment Research on Adolescent Drug Abuse began in 1991 as the first NIDA-funded clinical research center focusing on adolescent drug abuse treatment. The Center’s overarching goal is to conduct treatment research on adolescent drug abuse. CTRADA is funded by grants from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT). The fundamental orientation of CTRADA’s investigators is the development, refinement, and evaluation of treatments for drug abusing adolescents. CTRADA investigators also aim to develop a greater understanding of treatment factors and patient and family characteristics that increase or decrease the likelihood of treatment success with a broad range of ADA populations. Through the dissemination of information on successful treatment models to the local and national drug abuse community, CTRADA serves as a national resource to the National Institute on Drug Abuse for matters related to the treatment of ADA.

These broad goals are achieved through the conduct of ongoing research studies; collaboration with local and national treatment providers; consultation with members of the Scientific Advisory Board, Methodology Workgroup, and other consultants to the various projects; presentation and publication of research findings; and research training activities. Five major clinical studies are currently ongoing at the CTRADA, all of which examine treatment process and outcomes with clinically referred drug abusing youth in community settings. The first is a randomized clinical trial comparing Multidimensional family therapy with residential treatment for dually diagnosed severe drug abusing youth. The second study examines the feasibility and clinical impact of transporting an empirically supported family-based treatment (Multidimensional Family Therapy, MDFT) into a hospital-based day treatment for adolescent drug abusers. The third study is a randomized clinical trial comparing MDFT with a peer group treatment for young adolescents. Fourth, Multidimensional family therapy is one of the treatment models tested at two sites of the CSAT Cannabis Youth Treatment initiative, a multi-site collaborative study. In addition to these treatment studies, CTRADA investigators at the University of Miami and the University of Utah are conducting a study of the process of treatment in family therapy for adolescent drug abuse.

CTRADA has received NIDA funding for five new projects, each of which is focused on transporting MDFT into unique service delivery settings.   The first study is a treatment development study designed to develop a brief (5 session), highly prescriptive version of MDFT to be delivered by community-based clinicians.  As a brief, prescriptive treatment, MDFT has been modified to be more accessible to community therapists and conducive for delivery in community treatment agencies.  The second study aims to develop a theory-based, multicomponent community therapist training system (CTTS) that will teach and foster competence among community drug treatment providers in the application of MDFT. An innovative aspect of the project is the plan to use new technologies (CD-ROM and PDA) to supplement existing training methods in order to facilitate the learning, mastery, and continued use of the manualized treatment following training.  The third study is a treatment development project exploring the use of a promising family-based intervention, the Engaging Mom's Program (Dakof et al., 2003), within the family drug court context with mother’s at risk for having their parental rights terminated.  The fourth study, also to be delivered in a drug court setting, is a randomized controlled trial comparing the acceptability, efficacy, and benefit-cost of two different juvenile drug court models, MDFT and an individual and peer focused drug treatment intervention, both integrated with existing core juvenile drug court services.  Finally, CTRADA is one of nine research centers selected for Criminal Justice Drug Abuse Treatment Studies (CJ-DATS), a new NIDA funded national effort investigating novel solutions to habitual drug use among juvenile offenders.  In the context of the CJ-DATS, CTRADA is developing an intervention designed to link juvenile detention and community treatment contexts for substance abusing juvenile offenders.  CTRADA investigators are collaborating with project consultant, Ralph DiClemente, to include HIV prevention interventions in juvenile detention and to integrate HIV prevention protocols into Multidimensional Family Therapy.

The success of the CTRADA collaboration is reflected in the dissemination of over 150 publications, 250 research and clinical presentations, 40 federal research grants, and numerous local, national, and international awards. In 1994, the CTRADA was awarded a NIDA postdoctoral research training program grant which has expanded to include predoctoral students as well. The CTRADA’s senior researchers are involved in NIDA scientific advisory roles and a variety of clinical science dissemination efforts.