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Indiana University School of Medicine
Indiana University School of Medicine
Psychiatry

Supporting Prevention and Recovery for Communities

Are you a caregiver of a teen (ages 12-17) receiving support for mild to moderate substance use concerns from their primary care provider?

You and your child may be eligible to participate in a research study at Indiana University! IU researchers are studying how caregiver involvement may impact brief interventions. If you choose to participate, we will send you electronic surveys over 12 months to gather your experiences.

✔ Compensation provided for your time

✔ Help researchers learn how we might improve care for families, schools and communities

Interested? Contact us to learn more!

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Support Prevention and Recovery for Communities

Get Involved

Contact the team to learn more or participate in SPARC.

What is the main goal of this study?

The main goal is to measure how well different short-term, brief interventions perform in reducing alcohol and other substance use among teens over a 12-month period when delivered in an integrated behavioral health program in primary care clinics. 


Why is this study important?

Most teenagers who use alcohol and other substances don’t need a long-term course of therapy. Short-term or brief interventions can be helpful, but it’s not clear what types of brief interventions will have the best effects.  

Information learned in this study will help identify effective, practical interventions that can be implemented as part of primary care services, where over 90% of teens get care each year.  

Delivering effective interventions at scale could significantly reduce alcohol and substance use disorders among teens to promote healthy development. 


Why is addressing alcohol use among teens important?

Alcohol is the most used substance among U.S. teens, with 62 percent of 12th graders reporting lifetime use. 

Alcohol use — especially in the teen years — contributes to a variety of short-term and long-term harms. These can include problems at school, conflict in relationships, changes in brain development, legal problems, and health consequences.

Addressing alcohol and other substance use early can have benefits that last a lifetime. Unfortunately, most youth who could benefit from intervention do not receive it. This project focuses on finding ways to help teens who use alcohol and other substances before they cause major problems in their lives. 


How will this study help teens in the future? 

The study aims to identify effective, easy-to-implement brief interventions that can be scaled up to help more teens reduce alcohol and other substance use and improve their overall well-being.



Learn more

This study is being conducted by a team located at the Indiana University School of Medicine. Teens and caregivers will be recruited at several primary care clinics across Indiana that are part of the IU Health and Riley Children’s Health primary care network. 

More information can be found below!

Parents and Participants

Providers

Faculty Researchers

23695-Adams, Zachary

Zachary W. Adams, PhD

Associate Professor of Psychiatry

Read Bio

44312-Zapolski, Tamika

Tamika C. Zapolski, PhD

Associate Professor of Psychiatry

Read Bio

Additional Researchers

Brooke Moreland, PhD

SPARC Project Clinical Research Coordinator

Ashley Vetor, MPH

BHP Program Manager

In the News

Tamika Zapolski, PhD, MS, and Zachary Adams, PhD

$4.7 million award to help researchers prevent adolescent alcohol use

Indiana University School of Medicine researchers recently were awarded $4.7 million from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) to further the study of caregiver intervention in reducing adolescent alcohol use and other substance use disorders (SUDs).

Project Engagement

Stakeholder engagement means involving people who are directly affected by or have expertise in teen alcohol use and behavioral health in planning, conducting, and sharing the results of the study. 

Stakeholders include: 

  • Physicians and behavioral health specialists who provide care. 
  • Youth and caregivers with personal experience in alcohol use challenges. 
  • Health care administrators who manage clinics. 
  • Policy experts who influence decisions about substance use treatments. 

  • Stakeholders ensure the study reflects real-world needs. 
  • They help improve the design, recruitment, and communication processes. 
  • Their insights guide how the results can be used to create policy changes and better treatments. 

The PPAB is a group of key stakeholders, including: 

  • Doctors, behavioral health providers, and healthcare administrators. 
  • Youth and caregivers with lived experience in alcohol/substance use challenges. 

The PPAB will: 

  • Help make decisions about the study design, data interpretation, and communication of results. 
  • Assist in creating and sharing materials based on study findings. 

  • Members will meet six to nine times per year for at least two years. 
  • They will make decisions through shared decision-making, with 70 percent agreement required for group decisions. 
  • The board will have co-chairs, including the principal investigator (Tamika Zapolski, PhD) and a stakeholder member. 

The SAP is another group of experts focused on substance use treatment and policy. 

  • Members include experts in behavioral healthcare and those involved in policy changes. 
  • The SAP will provide guidance on study implementation, sharing results, and making the interventions sustainable. 
  • The group will meet quarterly or biannually, depending on study needs. 

Youth and caregivers will: 

  • Share their lived experiences to shape the study. 
  • Help develop recruitment materials that are clear and relevant to families. 
  • Provide feedback on study results and assist in sharing them with others. 

  • Advocate for policy changes to improve youth substance use treatments. 
  • Help scale up successful interventions to reach more teens and families. 
  • Co-author research publications and present findings at conferences. 

  • It ensures the study addresses real challenges faced by teens, families, and clinics. 
  • It empowers stakeholders to have a direct role in shaping solutions. 
  • It builds trust and collaboration between researchers and the community. 

  • Findings will be published in research journals and presented at conferences. 
  • Stakeholders will help share results with families, healthcare providers, and policymakers. 

Yes! These interventions can also be delivered by: 

  • School personnel. 
  • Probation officers. 
  • Community health workers. 
  • Through telehealth programs. 

Yes! Both Teen Intervene and Family Check-Up Online are ready-to-use programs that clinics, schools, and community organizations can adopt right away.