LMN CONSULTING — Department of Health and Human Services SBIR Phase II: NIDA

Description

AbstractTransition age youthTAYfrom agesare especially vulnerable to substance usemisuseand substance use disorderSUDThis developmental periodtermed theage of instabilityandquotand andquot emerging adulthoodandquotincludes tasks such as leaving homeentering collegeidentifying vocational goalsworking for the first timebody and sexuality changescoalescing with a peer groupand for someaging out of foster care or state custodywhich end at ageThe emergingadulthood period is prime for experimentation with substances and the development of SUDand associated problems such as binge drinkingdriving under the influenceaccidentsfighting and violenceHIVgang involvementsuicide and self harmand vulnerability to date rape and other sexual assaultA major challenge for TAY is the capacity to regulate their emotionsgiven the hormone changes and emotional intensity of this stage of lifeIndeedsubstance use is often described as a short term way to regulate emotion and there is a long standing literature documenting the association between emotion regulationERproblems and SUDThe importance of ER is also grounded in the developmental literature in which ER is identified as a core skill that is critical to the successful transition to adulthoodThe initial component of ERaccurate identification of emotionis itself a major challengeespecially for people with SUD as they are often not aware of their feelings or confused about them due to the nature of the disorder as well as mental health disorders that often co occur with SUDIn our phaseproject we developed and evaluated a mobile app that uses exciting new technologyautomated emotion detectionto help TAY better recognize their emotions in relation to SUD variablesWe found highly positive results in our phasefeasibilitypilot study and are now proposing a phaseproject to continue this workIn phasewe plan to enhance and continue to develop the app features and user experience based on end user feedback and our expert consultant teamPhasealso includes a randomized controlled trial to evaluate the app among TAY with SUDThey will have six weeks to use the app in their natural environmentsuch as homeand we will conduct preand post evaluation using validated instruments to compare outcomes between two conditionsthe app condition and a control app conditionThe primary outcomes are substance use and emotion regulationWe also plan to evaluate end user satisfaction with the app and have a final round of feedback at the end of phaseas well as explore app metricsThe app product we envision would have major public health and clinical impactIt could help improve TAY s ability to become more aware of their emotions and understand them in relation to SUD via an exciting emotion focused technology innovationIf the product is successful it could also be expanded to other populationsOur stellar team includes experts in SUDTAYclinical innovationstechnologyand app development Narrative We propose to help young adultsageswho have substance abuse problemsOur goal is to help them learn more about their emotions in relation to their substance abuse as a way to ultimately help them reduce their substance useIn phasewe developed an initial version of a mobile app for this purpose and evaluated itin phasewe plan to continue this work