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Program Reviews

Quit The Shit (QTS)

Overview

Quit The Shit is a web-based counseling intervention developed to help young people quit, or significantly reduce cannabis use.

The 50-day counseling program has four consecutive phases: 1) registration, 2) ‘admission’ one-to-one with a psychotherapist (goal setting and ID coping strategies), 3) diary keeping of all relevant aspects of cannabis use during program period (weekly counselor feedback provided), and 4) goal achievement, identification of successful strategies, and assessment of need for further professional help discussion one-to-one with psychotherapist.

Link to commercial site here.

Delivery:
Web-based

Theoretical Approach:
Solution-Focused

Target Substance(s):
Cannabis

Target Outcomes:
Frequency
Quantity
Self-efficacy
Psychological wellbeing
Anxiety
Depression
Life satisfaction

Ages:
Young Adults (18-30)
Adults (30+)

Genders:
Male
Female

Races/Ethnicities:
Unspecified

Setting:
Remote Access

Geographic Location:
Unspecified

Country:
Germany

Language:
German

Evaluations

  • A controlled trial of an Internet-based intervention program for cannabis users.

    Tossman HP, Jonas B, Tensil, MD, Lang P, Struber E. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking. 2011. 14(11):e26. PMID: 21651419.

    Summary: In this two-arm controlled trial, 1,292 subjects were assigned to QTS or a waitlist condition. Assessed using the Timeline Follow-Back method (TLFB). Two different analyses were conducted due to significant problems with retention. At the 3-month follow up, in the Intent-to-Treat analysis (ITT), participants randomized to the QTS condition (n = 100) show statistically significant reductions in in use related measures (frequency, quantity, and self-efficacy) and the level of anxiety than members of the waiting list (n = 106). However the only clinically relevant effect is that of use frequency. In the Per-Protocol (PP) analysis, which included those who submitted valid follow-up data, users of QTS had significantly stronger reductions in both consumption measures compared with members of the waiting list. Between group effect sizes in use frequency and quantity can be considered moderate to large and there are moderate effects on use-related self-efficacy. Further, QTS participants show a significantly stronger improvement of psychological wellbeing.

    Take Away: Results differed depending on the analysis conducted. QTS participants who were retained in treatment significantly reduced both the amount and frequency of cannabis use compared to waitlist controls.