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Piloting Positive Peer Journaling a Journaling Practice to Support Recovery From Addiction

Addiction Recovery in a Rural Minnesota Community: Piloting Positive Peer Journaling Part II

Status
Completed
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT03903159
Acronym
PPJ
Enrollment
15
Registered
2019-04-04
Start date
2019-01-29
Completion date
2019-09-30
Last updated
2021-08-26

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Addiction

Brief summary

The main objective of this study is development of the Positive Peer Journaling (PPJ) intervention and the feasibility, acceptability, and logistics of treatment delivery. A second objective is to observe whether PPJ is associated with improvement in hypothesized outcomes. The primary outcomes the investigators will examine are enhanced treatment retention and reduced recurrence of substance use. The investigators will also explore the association between the intervention and a set of hypothesized mediators of the effect of the intervention on outcomes, e.g., improvement in mood and satisfaction with recovery.

Interventions

PPJ is a journaling practice to support addiction recovery. PPJ encourages past 24 hour review and upcoming 24 hour planning to improve quality of life in recovery and reduce relapse. PPJ uses standard lined journals with column headings under which individuals make bullet-pointed lists. On the left hand page, past 24 hours is recalled, itemizing good and bad things that happened and things for which one is grateful. Wishes for others are also expressed on this page. On the right hand page, values-based activities for the upcoming 24 hours are planned via headings representing valued life domains such as recovery, work/school, spirituality, home and household, and health.

Sponsors

University of Minnesota
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
NA
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
FEMALE
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* minimum 18 years of age, * meet DSM-V criteria for past-year SUD as primary or secondary diagnosis, * English literacy sufficient to make short written lists needed to complete PPJ and homework assessments, * minimum 2 weeks sustained abstinence, * completed first 2 weeks of treatment at Wayside (approximately 2 weeks), a residential substance use disorder treatment program and the recruitment site, * priority will go to participants who are from or moving back to a rural area or small town defined as a population less than 10,500, * agree to be audio recorded in group meetings and in individual meetings with research staff, * currently are clients in the Wayside residential program, * participants must be English speaking and literacy must be strong enough to write short lists and to understand the questions asked in the questionnaires. * Priority will go to women who will be residing at Wayside for the duration of the study activities (and not moving out after one week, for example).

Exclusion criteria

* presence of a psychotic disorder, psychiatric condition (e.g., suicidal ideation), or cognitive impairment (e.g., severe dementia, traumatic brain injury) limiting ability to give consent and/or participate in the study; * severe psychiatric illness (current schizophrenia, major depression with suicidal ideation); * personality disorders that would interfere with satisfactory participation in or completion of the study protocol, * inability to give informed, voluntary consent to participate, * lack of sufficient English literacy to participate, defined as inability to make a list of 5 things they did yesterday and inability to understand questionnaire items, * any impairment, activity, or situation that in the judgement of the research staff would prevent satisfactory participation in or completion of the study protocol.

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Treatment Retention8 weeksPercentage of participants who were retained in treatment at the host facility until the end of the study or who left the residential treatment facility on good terms during the course of the study.
Substance Use8 weeksEvidence that the individual used drugs or alcohol during the intervention period. This will be assessed via positive drug screen (urine test or breathalizer) or participant self-report of substance use. Reported as the number of participants who use illicit substances during the study.
Percentage of Group Sessions Attended8 weeksPercentage of group sessions will be calculated by taking the number of group sessions attended divided by total number of group sessions offered. Outcome is reported as the overall percentage of group attendance for all 15 participants combined.
Number of PPJ Journal Entries Made8 weeksTotal count of the number of PPJ journal entries made over the course of the study

Countries

United States

Participant flow

Participants by arm

ArmCount
Treatment Group
Positive Peer Journaling (PPJ) Positive Peer Journaling (PPJ): PPJ is a journaling practice to support addiction recovery. PPJ encourages past 24 hour review and upcoming 24 hour planning to improve quality of life in recovery and reduce relapse. PPJ uses standard lined journals with column headings under which individuals make bullet-pointed lists. On the left hand page, past 24 hours is recalled, itemizing good and bad things that happened and things for which one is grateful. Wishes for others are also expressed on this page. On the right hand page, values-based activities for the upcoming 24 hours are planned via headings representing valued life domains such as recovery, work/school, spirituality, home and household, and health.
15
Total15

Withdrawals & dropouts

PeriodReasonFG000
Overall StudyDischarged Against Staff Advice1
Overall StudyDischarged at Staff Request2
Overall StudyDischarged with Staff Approval2

Baseline characteristics

CharacteristicTreatment Group
Age, Categorical
<=18 years
0 Participants
Age, Categorical
>=65 years
0 Participants
Age, Categorical
Between 18 and 65 years
15 Participants
Age, Continuous36.8 years
STANDARD_DEVIATION 9.7
Race (NIH/OMB)
American Indian or Alaska Native
1 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Asian
1 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Black or African American
1 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
More than one race
2 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Unknown or Not Reported
0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
White
10 Participants
Region of Enrollment
United States
15 participants
Sex: Female, Male
Female
15 Participants
Sex: Female, Male
Male
0 Participants

Adverse events

Event typeEG000
affected / at risk
deaths
Total, all-cause mortality
0 / 10
other
Total, other adverse events
0 / 10
serious
Total, serious adverse events
0 / 10

Outcome results

Primary

Number of PPJ Journal Entries Made

Total count of the number of PPJ journal entries made over the course of the study

Time frame: 8 weeks

ArmMeasureValue (NUMBER)
Treatment GroupNumber of PPJ Journal Entries Made196 number of journal entries
Primary

Percentage of Group Sessions Attended

Percentage of group sessions will be calculated by taking the number of group sessions attended divided by total number of group sessions offered. Outcome is reported as the overall percentage of group attendance for all 15 participants combined.

Time frame: 8 weeks

ArmMeasureValue (MEAN)Dispersion
Treatment GroupPercentage of Group Sessions Attended78.3 percent of sessions attendedStandard Deviation 26.5
Primary

Substance Use

Evidence that the individual used drugs or alcohol during the intervention period. This will be assessed via positive drug screen (urine test or breathalizer) or participant self-report of substance use. Reported as the number of participants who use illicit substances during the study.

Time frame: 8 weeks

ArmMeasureValue (NUMBER)
Treatment GroupSubstance Use4 Participants
Primary

Treatment Retention

Percentage of participants who were retained in treatment at the host facility until the end of the study or who left the residential treatment facility on good terms during the course of the study.

Time frame: 8 weeks

ArmMeasureValue (NUMBER)
Treatment GroupTreatment Retention73.3 percentage of participants

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026