Knight Danica K, Dansereau Donald F, Becan Jennifer E, Rowan Grace A, Flynn Patrick M
Institute of Behavioral Research, Texas Christian University (TCU), Box 298740, Fort Worth, TX, 76129, USA,
J Youth Adolesc. 2015 May;44(5):1024-38. doi: 10.1007/s10964-014-0127-6. Epub 2014 Apr 24.
Although adolescents demonstrate capacity for rational decision making, their tendency to be impulsive, place emphasis on peers, and ignore potential consequences of their actions often translates into higher risk-taking including drug use, illegal activity, and physical harm. Problems with judgment and decision making contribute to risky behavior and are core issues for youth in treatment. Based on theoretical and empirical advances in cognitive science, the Treatment Readiness and Induction Program (TRIP) represents a curriculum-based decision making intervention that can be easily inserted into a variety of content-oriented modalities as well as administered as a separate therapeutic course. The current study examined the effectiveness of TRIP for promoting better judgment among 519 adolescents (37 % female; primarily Hispanic and Caucasian) in residential substance abuse treatment. Change over time in decision making and premeditation (i.e., thinking before acting) was compared among youth receiving standard operating practice (n = 281) versus those receiving standard practice plus TRIP (n = 238). Change in TRIP-specific content knowledge was examined among clients receiving TRIP. Premeditation improved among youth in both groups; TRIP clients showed greater improvement in decision making. TRIP clients also reported significant increases over time in self-awareness, positive-focused thinking (e.g., positive self-talk, goal setting), and recognition of the negative effects of drug use. While both genders showed significant improvement, males showed greater gains in metacognitive strategies (i.e., awareness of one's own cognitive process) and recognition of the negative effects of drug use. These results suggest that efforts to teach core thinking strategies and apply/practice them through independent intervention modules may benefit adolescents when used in conjunction with content-based programs designed to change problematic behaviors.
尽管青少年表现出理性决策的能力，但他们冲动的倾向、对同伴的重视以及对自身行为潜在后果的忽视，往往导致更高的风险行为，包括吸毒、违法活动和身体伤害。判断和决策问题导致了危险行为，是接受治疗的青少年的核心问题。基于认知科学的理论和实证进展，治疗准备与诱导项目（TRIP）是一种基于课程的决策干预措施，它可以很容易地融入各种以内容为导向的模式中，也可以作为一门单独的治疗课程来实施。本研究考察了TRIP在促进519名接受住院药物滥用治疗的青少年（37%为女性；主要是西班牙裔和白种人）做出更好判断方面的有效性。比较了接受标准操作流程的青少年（n = 281）和接受标准操作流程加TRIP的青少年（n = 238）在决策和预谋（即行动前思考）方面随时间的变化。对接受TRIP的客户的特定于TRIP的内容知识变化进行了考察。两组青少年的预谋能力都有所提高；接受TRIP的客户在决策方面有更大的改善。接受TRIP的客户还报告说，随着时间的推移，他们的自我意识、积极思维（如积极的自我对话、目标设定）以及对吸毒负面影响的认识都有显著提高。虽然两性都有显著改善，但男性在元认知策略（即对自己认知过程的意识）和对吸毒负面影响的认识方面有更大的进步。这些结果表明，通过独立的干预模块来教授核心思维策略并加以应用/实践的努力，在与旨在改变问题行为的基于内容的项目结合使用时，可能会使青少年受益。
