Cannabis Use
Conditions
Brief summary
The study examined a community based cannabis cessation program in Norway (CCP). The CCP uses a combination of cognitive therapy and psychoeducation and covers the normal withdrawal period for cannabis smoking cessation (up to 8 weeks), comprising \ 15 individual sessions. From 2005 onwards, the CCP was implemented as a low-threshold community-based program in several Norwegian municipalities, e.g., Kristiansand, Fredrikstad and Oslo. The study had an observational one-group pre- / post test design. Outcomes was changes in cannabis use, mental distress, well-being, social network and sense of coherence (SoC) measured post-intervention (T2) and at a 3 months follow-up (T3).
Interventions
BEHAVIORALCannabis cessation Program
Lundqvist and Ericsson developed the 'Cannabis Cessation Program' (CCP, Nordic abbreviation: HAP) in Sweden in the 1990s. The method uses a combination of cognitive therapy and psychoeducation and covers the normal withdrawal period for cannabis smoking cessation (up to 8 weeks), comprising \~15 individual sessions. It describes a medical, a psychological, and a social phase, in which the participant is helped to recognize and address typical problems related to each phase, e.g., physical and psychological withdrawal problems. The overarching aim of the program is to help cannabis users to reorganize thinking patterns that developed while they were using cannabis and increase their social and psychological coping skills in relation to quitting cannabis use. The CCP manual has been translated into eight languages, e.g., Norwegian.
Sponsors
Sorlandet Hospital HF
Study design
Observational model
COHORT
Time perspective
PROSPECTIVE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
16 Years to No maximum
Inclusion criteria
* Severity of Dependence Scale (SDS) score ≥4
Exclusion criteria
* polydrug use where cannabis was not the predominating substance of use * psychiatric comorbidity that was perceived as too severe to handle at the community-based centers
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Cannabis use | Changes from baseline to post-treatment and follow-up, on average 5 months | Days with cannabis use last 30 days |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Mental distress | Changes from baseline to post-treatment and follow-up, on average 5 months | The Hopkins Symptom Checklist (HSCL) 25-item version was used to measure mental distress. Each of the 25 items was scored on a 4-point scale (1-4). An average score was computed, indicating a global severity index of mental distress (GSI), where higher scores indicated greater distress. Clinical cut-off = 1.75 |
| Well-being | Changes from baseline to post-treatment and follow-up, on average 5 months | The Outcome Rating Scale (ORS) was used to assess well-being. The scale has four visual analogue items on personal, interpersonal, social, and general well-being, and each item are scored from 0 = bad up to 10 = good. The items are then summed (range 0-40) and a score \<25 indicated scores expected in a clinical population. |
| Social network | Changes from baseline to post-treatment and follow-up, on average 5 months | Number of current friends with and without problematic substance use |
| Sense of Coherence (SoC) | Changes from baseline to post-treatment and follow-up, on average 5 months | The Sense of Coherence questionnaire, 29 item version, measures the degree to which the subject feels that he or she has a sense of control over their own lives (manageability - 10 items), that life has meaning (8 items) and that their social life is understandable (comprehensibility - 11 items). Responses to items are scored on a seven-point semantic differential scale. Scores are summed (ranges from 29 - 203) and higher scores indicated a stronger SoC |
Countries
Norway
Contacts
PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORJohn-Kåre Vederhus, PhD
Addiction Unit, Sørlandet Hospital, Kristiansand
Outcome results
None listed