Life Skills-Based Intervention on Substance Use Intention in Adolescents in Social Care Institutions

Condition(s) studied

Investigational drug(s) / intervention(s)

Life Skills Training (LST): Life Skills Training (HpV - Habilidades para la Vida). Format: 8 sessions, 60 minutes over eigth weeks once a week.Core Components:Emotional Regulation: Techniques to identify and manage emotions to reduce impulsivity.Inhibitory Control: Cognitive exercises to improve decision-making and resistance to immediate rewards.Social Skills: Training in assertiveness and resistance to peer pressure.Critical Thinking: Evaluating the consequences of substance use beyond standardized information.

Psicoeducation Traditional: This program consists of 8 sessions of 60 minutes over eigth weeks once a week, delivered with the same frequency and duration as the experimental group to control for social interaction and time effects. The content is based on traditional health education models, focusing on providing standardized information about the biological, social, and legal risks associated with substance use. Unlike the experimental arm, this program does not include specific training in emotional regulation or inhibitory control techniques, focusing strictly on informative and awareness-building lectures regarding the consequences of drug consumption

Study summary

Objective: evaluate the impact of a Life Skills Training (LST) intervention on substance use intention by analyzing changes in neuropsychological organization and psychological regulation processes in adolescents living in social assistance institutions.Methodology Design: Parallel-group randomized controlled trial with a 1:1 allocation ratio. Participants: 20 adolescents aged 12 to 17 with a minimum of 3 months of residence in foster care homes in Mexicali, Baja California.Intervention: The experimental group will undergo 8 sessions (60 minutes each) of LST, while the control group will receive a traditional psychoeducational intervention of the same duration.Key Measures: Electroencephalography (EEG) will be used to monitor cortical maturation (Alpha/Theta power) and frontal asymmetry. Clinical scales including DERS, DUSI, BANFE-2, and substance use intention questionnaires will also be administered.RationaleIn Mexico, the average age of onset for substance use has dropped to 12-13 years. Institutionalized adolescents face heightened vulnerability due to histories of trauma, neglect, and environmental exposure to high-lethality substances such as fentanyl and methamphetamines in the border region

Eligibility

Primary outcome measure(s)

• Change in Substance Use Intention Score — Baseline (Week 0) and post-intervention (Week 8)
  Evaluated using the Substance Use Intention Questionnaire (Cuestionario de Intención de Consumo). This scale measures the psychological predisposition toward using alcohol, tobacco, or illicit drugs. Metric: Change from baseline in the total score of the scale (higher scores indicate higher intention to consume) .Low Intention (Normal): Scores between 12 and 24 points, indicating a clear rejection of future substance use.Moderate Intention: Scores between 25 and 36 points.High Intention (Risk): Scores $\> 36$ points. This cut-off represents the theoretical median of the scale and is used as an indicator of high vulnerability and positive predisposition toward consumption.
• Inhibitory Control Performance — Baseline (Pre-intervention) and 8 weeks (Post-intervention)
  Iowa Gambling Test, will be measured by calculating EF quotients from the standardized test BANFE-2 (Flores Lázaro, J. C., Ostrosky Shejet, F., \& Lozano Gutiérrez, A) using risk cards percentage, final total score. Total score is transformed to normalized points 0-19 (with a mean of 10 ±3 SD, 4-6 low, 14-19 high performance).
• Substance Use and pshycosocial risk level — Baseline (Week 0) and post-intervention (Week 8)
  Drug Use Screening Inventory (DUSI-R). This is a 149-item self-report questionnaire with dichotomous (Yes/No) responses that screens for severity in 10 functional domains, including substance use, behavior, family system, and social competency. The index is calculated as the percentage of "Yes" responses, where a higher percentage indicates a Validated cut-off points for the Mexican adolescent population are used. In research terms, a Severity Index \> 20% in specific areas or in the overall score usually indicates a risk requiring immediate clinical attention.higher level of dysfunction or severity in the adolescent's life.

Trial sites (1)

More Universidad Autonoma de Baja California trials in Mexico