Enhancing Addiction Treatment Through Psychoeducation

The recruitment rate is quantified as the % of all participants who satisfy the inclusion criteria and agree to participate.

Retention/adherence rate is quantified as the % of participants who remain enrolled until the end of the study, completing all NIPA sessions and pre- and post-assessments.

Completion rate, indexing the number of training sessions completed by each participant.

Acceptability is measured with a 10-item questionnaire that uses a 10-point Likert scale, with higher scores indicating greater acceptability. Items include perceived enjoyment, convenience, informativeness, applicability, effectiveness, satisfaction, continued use, barriers to use, and most/least liked aspects.

Drug knowledge is assessed using a questionnaire developed by our team. The questionnaire consists of 12 true-or-false items adapted from the psychoeducational materials provided in the program. Participants will complete the questionnaire at baseline before the intervention, and again after the intervention ends. Drug knowledge scores will be calculated as the total number of true responses and reported as both numbers and percentages.

The Attitudes Toward Alcohol Use Scale and the Attitudes Toward Drug Use Scale each consist of four items. Intentions for use will be measured by asking participants to rate their intention to use various substances in the next six months on a 7-point Likert scale. Higher scores indicate greater intention to use. The scales evaluate participants' consideration of being under the influence of the respective substances. Participants complete the questionnaire at baseline, prior to the intervention, and again after the intervention has concluded. Attitudes toward drugs and alcohol will be reported using the mean and standard deviation.

Intention to use drugs and alcohol will be measured by asking participants to rate their intention to use various substances in the next month on a 7-point Likert scale, Higher scores indicate greater intention to use. Participants will complete the questionnaire at baseline prior to the intervention, and again after the intervention ends. Intentions to use will be reported using the mean and standard deviation.

The 15-item Mindful Attention Awareness Scale will measure metacognitive awareness. Each item is rated on a 6-point Likert scale, with higher total scores reflecting greater levels of mindfulness and awareness. Participants will complete the questionnaire at baseline before the intervention, and again after the intervention ends. The metacognitive awareness total score will be reported using the mean and standard deviation.

Anxiety will be measured using the PROMIS Anxiety Scale, a 4-item measure of emotional distress related to fear, anxious misery, hyperarousal, and associated somatic symptoms experienced over the past 7 days. Each item is rated on a 5-point Likert scale, reflecting the frequency of the symptoms. Higher scores indicate more severe symptoms. Participants will complete the questionnaire at baseline, before the intervention, and again after the intervention ends. Anxiety total score will be reported using the mean and standard deviation.

Depression will be measured using the PROMIS Depression Scale, a 4-item measure of negative mood, self-perception, social cognition, and reduced positive affect and engagement. It measures the frequency of each symptom using a 5-point Likert scale. Higher scores indicate more severe symptoms. Participants will complete the questionnaire at baseline, before the intervention, and again after the intervention ends. Depression total score will be reported using the mean and standard deviation.

The Drug Abstinence Self-Efficacy Scale is a 20-item scale that will be used to measure a participants confidence to remain abstinent from alcohol and drug use in situations that elicit drinking or substance use cues. It consists of four subscales measuring types of relapse precipitants such as negative affect, positive social, physical, and other concerns, and withdrawal and urges, measured on a 5-point Likert scale, with higher scores indicating greater self-efficacy to resist substance use in challenging situations. Participants will complete the questionnaire at baseline prior to the intervention, and again after the intervention ends. Self-efficacy total score will be reported using the mean and standard deviation.

The Barkley Deficits in Executive Function Scale will be used to measure subjective deficits in executive functioning as they manifest in daily life, using a 4-point Likert scale. Higher scores indicate greater executive function deficits. Participants will complete the questionnaire at baseline, prior to the intervention, and again after the intervention ends. Deficits in executive functioning total score will be reported using the mean and standard deviation

The Monetary-Choice Questionnaire, consisting of 27 items, will be used to assess delay discounting. The participant chooses between a smaller, immediate (hypothetical) monetary reward and a larger, delayed monetary reward. These choices are used to calculate a discounting rate parameter (k). Higher k values indicate a stronger preference for immediate rewards and thus greater impulsivity. Participants will complete the questionnaire at baseline before the intervention, and again after the intervention ends. Discounting rate (K) score will be reported using the mean and standard deviation. Parametric t-test or nonparametric Mann-Whitney U test to examine between-group differences, and paired t-test or non-parametric Wilcoxon signed-rank test to determine if the within-individual change in the group is statistically significant. Pre-existing differences in all measures collected at baseline will be controlled in subsequent analyses, using baseline scores as covariates.