Substance Use Moderates the Effectiveness of a Dating Violence Intervention for Justice-Involved Adolescent Girls
摘要
This brief report examines how substance use moderates the effectiveness of the Date SMART intervention, a dating and sexual risk prevention program, in reducing adolescent dating violence (ADV) among juvenile justice-involved girls. 2023
MethodsAdolescent girls involved in the juvenile justice system (N = 240) were randomized into two groups: Date SMART, a cognitive-behavioral intervention, and a knowledge-only control group. Five assessments were conducted over 12 months. Multilevel models (MLM) were used to analyze whether baseline substance use moderated the intervention's effectiveness in reducing psychological and physical ADV.
ResultsA series of multilevel models revealed a significant 3-way interaction between baseline substance use, assessment, and condition for psychological ADV. In the Date SMART condition, girls with higher baseline substance use showed greater reductions in psychological ADV involvement over time. This pattern was not replicated in the knowledge-only condition. No significant interactions emerged for physical ADV.
ConclusionsThe results suggest that girls with higher levels of substance use benefit more from skill-based interventions like Date SMART in reducing psychological ADV. These findings underscore the importance of tailoring interventions to address co-occurring risks.