# A Behavioral Economic Intervention to Reduce Marijuana Use in Truant Youth

> **NIH NIH K23** · UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA · 2023 · $168,972

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
Through the research and training described in this K23 proposal titled A Behavioral Economic Intervention to
Reduce Marijuana Use in Truant Youth, the PI (Dr. Yurasek) will acquire the necessary skills to become an
independent clinical researcher conducting patient-oriented research that will improve the efficacy, accessibility
and cost-effectiveness of marijuana use interventions within the juvenile justice system. Despite the
effectiveness of parent and family based interventions for juvenile substance use and recidivism, they can be
lengthy, costly and difficult to implement in court and community settings. These interventions often require
adolescents and family members to attend multiple sessions, and may not be appropriate for families and
settings with limited resources. Brief motivational interventions (BMIs) have demonstrated efficacy with
adolescent substance users, and approaches that combine parent and adolescent involvement have been
associated with more robust outcomes among youth. However, parent-based BMI’s do not address behavioral
economic mechanisms such as substance -free activities or delayed discounting which may limit their efficacy
with truant youth experiencing a disruption of substance-free reinforcement. The aim of this proposal is to
adapt a brief (one session) behavioral economic intervention to reduce marijuana use that involves truant
youth and their parents. This project will examine the acceptability, feasibility, and initial efficacy of this
intervention with adolescents referred for services as part of a juvenile specialty (truancy) diversion program.
The 4 research aims are to adapt a brief behavioral economic intervention for parents and adolescents, test
the feasibility of the intervention, conduct a randomized pilot trial, and conduct a cost-benefit analysis of
outcomes to ensure the protocol addresses the needs of the larger juvenile justice and court systems. In this
mentored career award, the PI will facilitate her career goals working with an experienced and knowledgeable
team of mentors (Drs. Cottler, Tolou-Shams, and Fisher) and collaborator/contributors (Drs. Park, Murphy, and
Spirito) to master four areas of training relevant to this proposal 1) Substance use treatment research in
juvenile-justice settings 2) community-based intervention development and adaptation for substance-using
adolescents; 3) qualitative data collection and analyses; and 4) developing basic competencies in economic
evaluation of legal, social and mental health outcomes. Successful completion of this study will provide
information on the benefits of using behavioral economic theory to reduce marijuana use and potentially
reduce costs associated with treating marijuana using truant youth.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10589051
- **Project number:** 5K23DA046565-05
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
- **Principal Investigator:** Ali Yurasek
- **Activity code:** K23 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2023
- **Award amount:** $168,972
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-04-15 → 2023-08-15

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10589051

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10589051, A Behavioral Economic Intervention to Reduce Marijuana Use in Truant Youth (5K23DA046565-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-21 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10589051. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*