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BackgroundRefugees often report high levels of psychological distress due to traumatic experiences before and during flight as well as many post-migration stressors. Refugees with hazardous substance use or existing substance use disorder (SUD) are a particularly vulnerable group for whom few preventive and therapeutic measures are available. The aim of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of an integrative culturally sensitive group therapy approach (STARC-SUD) to improve affect regulation in refugees with substance-related problems.MethodsThe study aims to includeN= 286 male refugees with psychological distress (GHQ-12 > 13) and hazardous substance use or SUD (AUDIT > 7 or DUDIT > 6). Therapists working supported by interpreters will deliver the STARC-SUD intervention in addiction aid facilities in six metropolitan regions of Germany. The primary endpoint is severity of psychological distress (GHQ-12). The effectiveness of STARC-SUD is compared with treatment as usual (TAU) post-intervention and 3 months later.DiscussionThis trial will be one of the first RCTs on a culturally sensitive transdiagnostic intervention for trauma-exposed refugees with hazardous substances or SUD. The trial might gain new insights into the efficacy of such an intervention.Trial registrationOSF Registryosf.io/nhxd4. Registered prospectively on September 22, 2020, doi: 10.17605/OSF.IO/NHXD4. DRKS DRKS00017668

Background Despite the high rate of traumatic events in clients with substance use disorders, trauma exposure often remains undetected in a majority of treatment-seeking clients. Improving health professionals’ knowledge and skills in the inquiry of traumatic events is therefore of utmost importance for appropriately addressing trauma-related treatment needs. However, professionals in substance use disorder treatment settings frequently report barriers to the inquiry about traumatic events, e.g., the fear of offending or harming the client. Such barriers should be addressed by trainings that aim to improve the systematic inquiry of traumatic events. Methods Using a cluster-randomized trial, we examined whether a one-day training in trauma inquiry (‘Learning How to Ask’) would reduce professionals’ perceived barriers to trauma inquiry. One hundred forty-eight professionals working in outpatient substance use disorder treatment centers were randomized to an intervention (n = 72) or a control group (n = 76). The professionals in the intervention group received a one-day training plus a refresher session 3 months later, the professionals in the control group received no training. At baseline, and at 3-month and 6-month follow-up, professionals rated on a four-point Likert scale regarding how strongly they agreed with statements about six common barriers to trauma inquiry, namely ‘Feeling uncomfortable when asking about traumatic events’, ‘Fear of offending the client’, ‘Fear of retraumatizing the client’, ‘Fear that client may terminate treatment’, ‘Unsure whether authorities have to be informed when perpetrator is known’, and ‘No trauma-specific treatment available in my local area’. Results The trained group experienced significant greater decreases in five of the six perceived barriers to the inquiry of traumatic events from baseline to 6-month follow-up than the control group (‘Feeling uncomfortable when asking about traumatic events’: b = − 0.32, 95% CI [− 0.52, − 0.12]; ‘Fear of offending the client’: b = − 0.33, 95% CI [− 0.56, − 0.09]); ‘Fear of retraumatizing the client’: b = − 0.45, 95% CI [− 0.69, − 0.22]; ‘Fear that client may terminate treatment’: b = − 0.28, 95% CI [− 0.49, 0.07]; ‘No trauma-specific treatment available in my local area’: b = − 0.25, 95% CI [− 0.51, − 0.01]). Conclusions Our findings provide first evidence that a one-day training in trauma inquiry is effective in reducing common barriers to trauma inquiry, which may in turn improve detection of traumatic events. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s13011-019-0211-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Anhand der Erstbefragung der Eltern im Modellvorhaben „Eltern starken fur den Umgang mit dem Alkoholkonsum ihrer Kinder“ wurde erhoben, wie gut die Eltern uber jugendlichen Alkoholkonsum informiert sind und welche alkoholbezogenen Regeln sie im Umgang mit ihren Kindern fur sinnvoll halten. Weiterhin wurden die Reaktionen der Eltern auf einen Rauschzustand der Kinder erhoben. Es wurden 2793 Eltern von Schulern und Schulerinnen der Klassenstufen 8–10 in Baden-Wurttemberg, Berlin, Sachsen und Schleswig-Holstein befragt. Der Rucklauf der Fragebogen erfolgte uber die Lehrkrafte. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass sich die Eltern zum Thema „Erziehung und Alkoholkonsum der Kinder“ gut informiert fuhlen. Als Informationsquelle nutzen 71 % das Internet. Zirka 95 % der Eltern haben bereits mit ihren Kindern uber Alkoholkonsum gesprochen, wobei sie v. a. vor gesundheitlichen Schaden und einer Abhangigkeitsentwicklung warnen. Diejenigen Verhaltensregeln, die einen sicheren Heimweg der Kinder garantieren sollen, werden von den Eltern favorisiert. Als Reaktion auf Regelverstose suchen die Eltern vorrangig das Gesprach mit ihren Kindern. Der Vergleich mit aktuellen Erhebungen unter Jugendlichen zeigt, dass die Eltern den Alkoholkonsum ihrer Kinder unterschatzen. Alkohol und seine Folgen sind ein Gesprachsthema unter Eltern und Kindern. Dabei brauchen die Eltern Unterstutzung, um sachlich und jugendgerecht zu argumentieren. Um die Eltern zu erreichen, sollten suchtpraventive Masnahmen verstarkt das Internet als Aufklarungsmedium nutzen.