An interventional study of iDECIDE in Substance Use (Drugs, Alcohol), Health Risk Behaviors and Youth, sponsored by Massachusetts General Hospital. Completed at 1 site in United States. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-11-05.
Sponsored by Massachusetts General Hospital · Not applicable, Interventional, and Prevention
The goal of this pilot study is to measure the feasibility, sustainability, and acceptability of a drug education curriculum (IDECIDE) in middle and high students who have endorsed past-month substance use.The main question it aims to answer is:
1) What is the impact of iDECIDE on the the knowledge of drug effects and teen brain development, attitudes and perceptions of drug-related harms, and willingness to quit or reduce substance use?
Participants will be asked to participate in 4 sessions of the iDECIDE curriculum and complete surveys and interview questionnaires over the course of approximately 3 months.
This study will be a one-arm pilot study enrolling approximately 100 middle and high school students who have endorsed substance use in the past month. Participants will be followed over 3 months. All participants will receive iDECIDE developed to provide behavioral support and psychoeducation via videoconference or in-person visits. The purpose of iDECIDE is to provide students with the knowledge and skills they need to make healthy decisions regarding substance use. Data collection will occur during seven visits over the span of approximately three months, including one baseline visit, four weekly visits during the intervention phase of the study, and then two follow-up visits. The follow-up visits will occur at approximately one week and one month following the end-of-intervention. Participants will complete questionnaires and assessments throughout the study. Primary outcomes (Knowledge of Drug Effects and Brain Development readiness to quit, readiness to reduce, perceptions of harm) will be assessed at visit 1 (baseline), visit 6 (one week follow-up), and visit 7 (one month follow-up). Participants will be compensated for session attendance.
2,238 studies on the registry are indexed under Substance-Related Disorders; 409 are open to participants now.
This study's enrollment of 48 is below the median of 108 across 1,840 interventional studies indexed under Substance-Related Disorders.
Browse Substance-Related Disorders studies →Massachusetts General Hospital is the lead sponsor of 2,586 studies on the registry; 447 are open to participants now.
Of its 222 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 168 (76%) have results posted.
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Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.
Exclusion Criteria:
Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Informed consent
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Participants will… 1. Receive 4 weekly sessions of the iDECIDE drug curriculum. 2. Complete assessments and questionnaires, including self-reports of substance use.
Behavioral: iDECIDE
iDECIDE is a 4-session drug education and diversion program that addresses topics such as the neurobiology and addiction, adolescent brain development, industry tactics, motives for using substances, risk and protective factors, identifying triggers, healthy alternatives, core values, and long-term goal setting. These topics are taught via facilitated discussions, videos, worksheets, and handouts. The iDECIDE drug curriculum will be delivered weekly for 4 weeks via videoconference or in-person visits. Each session typically takes 60-75 minutes. For this study, facilitators are members of study staff.
Knowledge of Drug Effects & Brain Development
Knowledge of Drug Effects and Brain Development will be measured by number of items correct on a 25-item multiple-choice questionnaire that assesses knowledge taught in the iDECIDE curriculum, including neurobiology of addiction, side effects of substance, and industry tactics to market substances to young audiences.
Time frame: Baseline, one-week follow-up, one-month follow-up
Readiness to Quit or Reduce Substance Use
Participants will complete a Readiness Ruler to determine how ready they are to quit and reduce their primary substance on a scale from 1 (not at all ready) to 10 (very ready).
Time frame: Baseline, one-week follow-up, one-month follow-up
Perceived Harm of Substance Use
The Perceived Harm of Substance Use measure was modified from the 2010 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Participants will assess their perceived harm of various forms of substance use using four response categories that range from no risk to great risk.
Time frame: Baseline, one-week follow-up, one-month follow-up
Frequency of Substance Use
The Timeline Follow-Back (TLFB) will be used to measure number of days the participant used a substance, which substances were used, and the frequency of which substances were used. The initial TLFB at the baseline visit will measure substances used in the past 90 days. Participants will be prompted to share their substance use since their baseline and follow-up visits during the one-week and one-month follow-up visits, respectively.
Time frame: Baseline, one-week follow-up, one-month follow-up
Anxiety symptoms
The Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders Revised (SCARED-R) questionnaire is a 66-item self-report questionnaire to measure DSM child anxiety symptoms. Participants are asked to endorse how frequently they have experienced each symptom on a 3-point scale: 0 ("almost never"), 1 ("sometimes"), and 2 ("often"). A total score (0-132) and anxiety sub-scores are calculated by adding item scores.
Time frame: Baseline, one-week follow-up, one-month follow-up
Depressive symptoms
The Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale for Children (CES-DC) is a 20-item questionnaire for assessing past-week depressive symptoms in children and adolescents. Responses range from 0 ("not at all") to 3 ("a lot"). Total scores can range from 0-60.
Time frame: Baseline, one-week follow-up, one-month follow-up
Plan to share: Yes — Individual participant data that underlie reported results (after de-identification [text, tables, figures, and appendices]), and the study protocol, statistical analysis plan, analytic code, and informed consent form will be made available to researchers who provide a methodologically sound proposal beginning 3 months and ending 5 years following article publication to achieve aims in the approved proposal. Proposals should be directed to rschuster@harvard.mgh.edu. To gain access, data requestors will need to sign a data access agreement.
Supporting information: Study protocol, Statistical analysis plan, Informed consent form, Analytic code
Time frame: Beginning 3 months and ending 5 years following article publication
Access criteria: Researchers who provide a methodologically sound proposal to achieve aims in the approved proposal. Data access agreement required.
From the registry record's own update history. This site started tracking changes on Sep 25, 2026; for anything earlier, see the record history on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
This study is completed, as verified in Oct 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
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