SOLID-Supporting Looked After Children in Decreasing Drugs & alcohol

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  SOLID (Supporting Looked After Children and Care Leavers In Decreasing Drugs, and alcohol): a pilot feasibility study of interventions to decrease risky substance use (drugs and alcohol) and improve mental health of Looked After Children and Care Leavers aged 12 -20 years.

• IRAS ID

  188074

• Contact name

  Eileen Kaner

• Contact email

  e.f.s.kaner@ncl.ac.uk

• Sponsor organisation

  Newcastle University

• Duration of Study in the UK

  2 years, 0 months, 0 days

• Research summary

  Young people in Local Authority Care (Looked After Children) are four times more likely to use drugs and alcohol compared to their peers. Although we know that counselling can help reduce drug and alcohol use, we do not know the best way to help young people in ‘Care’ who may be harder to work with due to their own social and emotional difficulties. The SOLID study (Supporting Looked After Children and care leavers In Decreasing Drugs and alcohol) aims to reduce drug and alcohol use and improve mental health in Looked After Children aged 12 to 20 years. We will adapt two counselling approaches for use with these young people called motivational enhancement therapy (MET) and social behavioural network therapy (SBNT). MET focuses on changing internal thoughts, whilst SBNT focuses on the external or social factors that may affect drug and alcohol use.

  Study phases:
  1: We will seek the views of young people in care and key staff to help make sure our counselling approaches are as helpful and relevant as possible.
  2: Pilot Feasibility Trial. Young people aged 12 to 20 years in three areas of North East England will be screened by their social worker for drug and alcohol use. Those who are using drugs or alcohol and who are happy to be in the study will be sorted at random into three groups to receive: 1. usual care; 2. six sessions of MET; or 3. six sessions of SBNT. After a year, we will re-contact the young people to ask them about their drug and alcohol use as well as some other important behaviours affected by it, including sexual behaviour, and mental health. This is the first study in the UK to think about the best ways of helping Looked After Children decrease their drug and alcohol use.

• REC name

  North East - Newcastle & North Tyneside 1 Research Ethics Committee

• REC reference

  16/NE/0123

• Date of REC Opinion

  22 Apr 2016

• REC opinion

  Favourable Opinion