Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34052685›Full record

Trial reportDrug and alcohol dependence2021

Combined pharmacotherapy and evidence-based psychosocial Cannabis treatment for youth and selection of cannabis-using friends.

Samuel N Meisel, Hayley Treloar Padovano, Robert Miranda

Open access · greenAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in Drug and alcohol dependence, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
1.1field-weighted citation impact, top 23% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 9 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pharmacotherapies for cannabis use disorder.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2025
    Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Review
  4. Article
  5. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Samuel N MeiselCenter for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, Brown University, Providence, RI, 02912, USA; E. P. Bradley Hospital, Riverside, RI, 02915, USA.
Hayley Treloar PadovanoCenter for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, Brown University, Providence, RI, 02912, USA.
Robert MirandaCenter for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, Brown University, Providence, RI, 02912, USA; E. P. Bradley Hospital, Riverside, RI, 02915, USA. Electronic address: Robert_Miranda_Jr@brown.edu.
Brown University · US

Funding

ALCOHOL INTERVENTION/TREATMENT OUTCOME RESEARCH TRAININGT32AA007459 · NIAAA · BROWN UNIVERSITY · PI ROBERT MIRANDA, PETER M. MONTI · 1986 to 2026
$13.3M
Mentored Patient-Oriented Research on Adolescent Alcohol Misuse and TreatmentK24AA026326 · NIAAA · BROWN UNIVERSITY · PI ROBERT MIRANDA · 2018 to 2026
$1.7M
Biobehavioral effects of topiramate on cannabis-related outcomes in adolescentsR01DA026778 · NIDA · BROWN UNIVERSITY · PI MIRANDA, ROBERT · 2009 to 2010
$1.1M
Novel Approaches to Understanding How Alcohol Pathology Develops in AdolescentsK23AA024808 · NIAAA · BROWN UNIVERSITY · PI TRELOAR PADOVANO, HAYLEY · 2017 to 2021
$973k
Leveraging Ecological Momentary Assessment to Examine Peer Affiliations as a Mechanism of Behavior Change in Youth Alcohol Use TreatmentF32AA028414 · NIAAA · EMMA PENDLETON BRADLEY HOSPITAL · PI MEISEL, SAMUEL NOAH · 2020 to 2022
$159k
NIAAA NIH HHS F32 AA028414NIAAA NIH HHS K23 AA024808NIAAA NIH HHS K24 AA026326NIAAA NIH HHS T32 AA007459NIDA NIH HHS R01 DA026778
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundTheoretical models of behavior change argue that youth should decrease their time with cannabis-using friends and increase their time with non-using friends during treatment. Informed by behavior-change models of recovery and socialization and selection peer-influence models, the current study examined whether combining evidence-based psychosocial treatment with adjunctive pharmacotherapy helps youth decrease their affiliations with cannabis-using friends and increase their affiliations with non-using friends during cannabis misuse treatment.

methodsYouth ages 15-24 years (51 % male), participated in a double-blind randomized clinical trial that tested the effects of motivational enhancement and cognitive behavioral therapy (MET-CBT) plus topiramate (N = 39) or placebo (N = 26) on cannabis craving and use. Ecological momentary assessment data, collected via smartphones throughout the six-week intervention, assessed youths' time with cannabis-using and non-using friends, cannabis use, and craving in daily life. Multiple group multilevel structural equation modeling tested study hypotheses.

resultsAcross the topiramate (48 % completion rate) and placebo (77 % completion rate) conditions, greater time spent with cannabis-using friends promoted greater next day cannabis use and craving (socialization effect). In turn, cannabis craving, but not use, promoted continued selection of cannabis-using friends. This indirect effect was only supported in the placebo condition due to the selection piece of this cycle not being significant for youth who received topiramate. Neither cannabis craving nor use were associated with time with non-using friends the next day.

conclusionsMET-CBT and adjunctive topiramate pharmacotherapy interrupted youth selection processes. This finding suggests that changing peer affiliations could be one mechanism by which treatments can work.

Indexed as

CannabisMarijuana AbuseMotivational InterviewingAdolescentAdultFriendsHumansTopiramateYoung AdultTopiramateCannabis-using friendsMediationMET-CBTPeer influenceTopiramate

Identifiers

PMID34052685
PMCPMC8282736
OpenAlexW3165864111

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.