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RecruitingNCT07654205Updated Aug 18, 2026

Smartphone-based Intervention for Young Adults With ADHD

An interventional study of Ecological Momentary Assessment for ADHD and Substance Use - Intervention Group and Ecological Momentary Assessment for ADHD & Substance Use - Control Group in Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder(ADHD) and Alcohol Use, sponsored by Traci Kennedy. Recruiting at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 25 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-08-18.

Sponsored by Traci Kennedy · Not applicable, Interventional, and Other

Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
70
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years to 25 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

The primary goal of this clinical trial is to test if a smartphone-based intervention is feasible \& acceptable among young adults with ADHD who also engage in risky drinking behaviors. A secondary aim is to test preliminary intervention efficacy. The main questions it aims to answer are:

Is the smartphone intervention feasible \& acceptable for participants (e.g., are they responding regularly, is there a low level of burden reported)?

Does the smartphone intervention improve symptom awareness, inhibitory control, and problematic alcohol use?

Participants will:

Attend a virtual baseline visit to assess ADHD, alcohol use, and other life experiences.

Complete either the TIPS smartphone intervention or a control smartphone protocol over the course of 31-days, starting the first Friday after the baseline visit.

Attend a virtual follow-up visit, where many of the same questions from the baseline visit will be asked again.

02

Conditions studied

  • Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder(ADHD)
  • Alcohol Use
03

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 25 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

  • Age 18-25
  • Current diagnosis of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder-Combined Type according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders - Fifth Edition (DSM 5)
  • Drinks at least 4 (for females) / 5 (for males) alcoholic drinks in a single drinking session at least once per week
  • Owns a smartphone
  • Reads and understands English

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Currently in high school
  • Actively in treatment for Alcohol Use Disorder
04

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Other
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Triple (Participant, Investigator, Outcomes assessor)
Enrollment
70 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Intervention Arm

    Participants in this arm will be randomly assigned to the Experimental condition of the smartphone portion.

    Device: Ecological Momentary Assessment for ADHD and Substance Use - Intervention Group

  • Sham comparator
    Control Arm

    Participants in this arm will be randomly assigned to the Control condition of the smartphone portion.

    Device: Ecological Momentary Assessment for ADHD & Substance Use - Control Group

Interventions

  • DeviceEcological Momentary Assessment for ADHD and Substance Use - Intervention Group

    Participants will rate their ADHD symptoms and impairment 4 times daily. Feedback on changes in ADHD symptoms will be provided visually via a graph at each prompt. They will also be texted suggestions following each survey to try behavioral strategies intended to help with their inhibitory control ADHD symptoms and related problems, with a particular focus on alcohol use and problems).

  • DeviceEcological Momentary Assessment for ADHD & Substance Use - Control Group

    Participants will receive 4 prompts per day in the same time windows as participants in the intervention group. However, participants in the control conditions will not be given the 3 TIPS intervention components (symptom monitoring, symptom feedback, and tailored strategy suggestions) and instead will report about their drinking behaviors. They will also answer several "neutral" questionnaires that have been designed by the study team to keep intervention prompt length similar between groups.

05

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Average Completion Rate

    Completion rate will be defined as number of surveys completed out of the 124 that will be sent during the 31-day smartphone intervention period. 4 surveys will be sent every day. An average completion rate of 80% in the intervention group would indicate good feasibility.

    Time frame: Enrollment to Completion of 31-Day Intervention Period

  2. Average mHealth App Usability Questionnaire (MAUQ) Rating

    The usability of the smartphone intervention will be assessed using the 18-item mHealth App Usability Questionnaire (MAUQ), rated from 1-disagree to 7-agree, with an average of at least 5 indicating good usability.

    Time frame: Within 1 month of intervention completion

Secondary outcomes

  1. Change in past-month average alcohol quantity

    A change in past-month average alcohol quantity from pre- to post-intervention, as measured by the 31-day timeline followback interview.

    Time frame: Enrollment to Completion of 31-Day Intervention Period,

  2. Change in number of past-month binge-drinking episodes

    A change in number of past-month binge-drinking episodes from pre- to post- intervention, as measured by the timeline followback interview. Binge-drinking is defined as drinking 4 or more drinks in assigned female at birth participants, or 5 or more drinks in assigned male at birth participants within a 2-hour period.

    Time frame: Enrollment to Completion of 31-Day Intervention Period

  3. Change in number of past-month alcohol problems reported on the Young Adult Alcohol Consequence Questionnaire

    Participants will complete the 23-item Young Adult Alcohol Consequence Questionnaire at baseline (pre-intervention) and follow-up (post-intervention). For each item, participants will indicate whether the item is something they have experienced in the past month.

    Time frame: Enrollment to Completion of 31-Day Intervention Period

Other outcomes

  1. Change in inhibitory control

    Participants and collateral reported will complete the 8-item Inhibit subscale of the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function Adult Version (BRIEF-A) at baseline (pre-intervention) and post-intervention follow-up.

    Time frame: Enrollment to Completion of 31-Day Intervention Period

  2. Change in awareness

    A change in awareness of inhibitory control from pre- to post-intervention, as measured by the 15 item Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS)

    Time frame: Enrollment to Completion of 31-Day Intervention Period

  3. Change in objectively measured inhibitory control

    A change in objectively measured inhibitory control based on mobile CuedGoNoGo responses (rate of commission errors, i.e., when the participant tapped their screen when they weren't supposed to)

    Time frame: Enrollment to Completion of 31-Day Intervention Period

  4. Change in awareness of errors on mobile CuedGoNoGo task

    A change in awareness of errors made on the mobile CuedGoNoGo task (i.e., accuracy of participant's guess of how many commission errors they made), assessed immediately after completion of the task.

    Time frame: Enrollment to Completion of 31-Day Intervention Period

  5. Change in ADHD symptom severity

    A change from baseline to post-intervention follow-up in ADHD symptom severity, as measured by clinician-administered and collateral informant-reported ADHD Rating Scale scores.

    Time frame: Enrollment to Completion of 31-Day Intervention Period

06

Study locations

1 of 1 sites recruiting
  • University of Pittsburgh
    Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, United States
    Recruiting
07

References and documents

Publications

  • Kennedy TM, Lee CM, Molina BSG, Pedersen SL. From Assessment to Intervention: Leveraging Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) to Develop a Personalized mobile-health (mHealth) Ecological Momentary Intervention (EMI) for Young Adults With ADHD and High-Risk Alcohol Use. J Stud Alcohol Drugs. 2026 Jan;87(1):34-53. doi: 10.15288/jsad.24-00449. Epub 2025 Aug 29. PubMed 40880228 ↗

Individual participant data

Plan to share: Yes — All collected IPD will be shared with the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Data Archive (NIAAADA). Analytic code may be shared on an open science platform at the time of publication of results.

Supporting information: Analytic code

08

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT07654205
Lead sponsor
Traci Kennedy
Collaborators
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)
Responsible party
Traci Kennedy (Assistant Professor, University of Pittsburgh) — Sponsor-investigator
First posted
Jun 17, 2026
Start date
Jul 15, 2026
Primary completion
Mar 1, 2027 (estimated)
Completion
May 1, 2027 (estimated)
Last update
Aug 18, 2026

Study contacts

Traci Kennedy, PhD
Contact
kennedytm2@upmc.edu
4122466087
Aiden Williard, B.S.
Contact
williarda@upmc.edu
4127324911
Traci Kennedy, PhD.
principal investigator · University of Pittsburgh

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
Yes
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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