Trial reportJournal of medical Internet research2018
Effects of Treatment Length and Chat-Based Counseling in a Web-Based Intervention for Cannabis Users: Randomized Factorial Trial.
Trial report in Journal of medical Internet research, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 17 citations in OpenAlex.
- Digital Interventions for Recreational Cannabis Use Among Young Adults: Systematic Review, Meta-Analysis, and Behavior Change Technique Analysis of Randomized Controlled Studies.Journal of medical Internet research · 2024Pooled it
- Acceptability, Feasibility, and Outcome Responsiveness of the Joint Effort Mobile App for Promoting Lower-Risk Cannabis Use Among Young Adults: Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2026Trial
- Web-Based Intervention and Email-Counseling for Problem Gamblers: Results of a Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of gambling studies · 2020Trial
- Guided web-based treatment program for reducing cannabis use: a randomized controlled trial.Addiction science & clinical practice · 2020Trial
- Online Interventions for the Selective Prevention of Illicit Drug Use in Young Drug Users: Exploratory Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2020Article
- Measuring Within-Individual Cannabis Reduction in Clinical Trials: A Review of the Methodological Challenges.Current addiction reports · 2019Article
- Predictors of treatment response in a web-based intervention for cannabis users.Internet interventions · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundDigital interventions show promise in reducing problematic cannabis use. However, little is known about the effect of moderators in such interventions. The therapist-guided internet intervention Quit the Shit provides 50 days of chat-based (synchronous) and time-lagged (asynchronous) counseling.
objectiveIn the study, we examined whether the effectiveness of Quit the Shit is reduced by shortening the program or by removing the chat-based counseling option.
methodsWe conducted a purely Web-based randomized experimental trial using a two-factorial design (factor 1: real-time-counseling via text-chat: yes vs no; factor 2: intervention duration: 50 days vs 28 days). Participants were recruited on the Quit the Shit website. Follow-ups were conducted 3, 6, and 12 months after randomization. Primary outcome was cannabis-use days during the past 30 days using a Timeline Followback procedure. Secondary outcomes were cannabis quantity, cannabis-use events, cannabis dependency (Severity of Dependence Scale), treatment satisfaction (Client Satisfaction Questionnaire), and working alliance (Working Alliance Inventory-short revised).
resultsIn total, 534 participants were included in the trial. Follow-up rates were 47.2% (252/534) after 3 months, 38.2% (204/534) after 6 months, and 25.3% (135/534) after 12 months. Provision of real-time counseling (factor 1) was not significantly associated with any cannabis-related outcome but with higher treatment satisfaction (P=.001, d=0.34) and stronger working alliance (P=.008, d=0.22). In factor 2, no significant differences were found in any outcome. The reduction of cannabis use among all study participants was strong (P<.001, d≥1.13).
conclusionsThe reduction of program length and the waiver of synchronous communication have no meaningful impact on the effectiveness of Quit the Shit. It therefore seems tenable to abbreviate the program and to offer a self-guided start into Quit the Shit. Due to its positive impact on treatment satisfaction and working alliance, chat-based counseling nevertheless should be provided in Quit the Shit.
trial registrationInternational Standard Randomized Controlled Trial Number ISRCTN99818059; http://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN99818059 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6uVDeJjfD).
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.