| Course | NUR-7631 Advanced Assessment, Differential Diagnosis, and Management of Psychiatric Disorders Child and Adolescent Populations, Part A |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 1 |
| Paper type | Case analysis: adolescent substance use |
| Length | About 1,028 words, 6 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Thomas Edison State University |
| Program | M.S. in Nursing, Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for NUR 7631 Module 1
A CRAFFT Score of Four: Screening, Diagnosing and Planning Brief Treatment for Daily Cannabis Vaping in a 16-Year-Old Whose Grades Collapsed
Student Name
M.S. in Nursing, Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner, Thomas Edison State University
NUR-7631: Advanced Assessment, Differential Diagnosis, and Management of Psychiatric Disorders: Child and Adolescent Populations, Part A
Mentor Name
Month Day, Year
A CRAFFT Score of Four: Screening, Diagnosing and Planning Brief Treatment for Daily Cannabis Vaping in a 16-Year-Old Whose Grades Collapsed
Sent In for His Attitude
Jaylen, an invented patient, is 16 and in eleventh grade in Newark. His mother brought him in because he has become "lazy and rude," sleeps until noon on weekends and is failing three classes after years of steady Bs. She suspects depression. Interviewed alone, he says he started vaping cannabis concentrate with friends last summer and now uses every day, usually before school and again at night to sleep. He has tried to cut down twice and failed, spends most of his part-time pay on cartridges and has stopped playing basketball. He denies other drugs, drinks occasionally at parties and has no suicidal thoughts. He agreed to speak openly after being told what would and would not be shared with his mother.
Confidentiality First
Adolescents disclose substance use when they trust that it will not be reported automatically to parents. Before any questions, Jaylen heard the ground rules: his answers stay between him and the clinician, except where his own life or someone else's could be in danger, and even then he would hear about it first. New Jersey permits minors to consent to some substance use treatment, and the plan respects that while encouraging him to involve his mother. His mother was told at the start that part of the visit would be private, which she accepted reluctantly.
The Screen
Its name is a memory aid for six yes-or-no items: Car, Relax, Alone, Forget, Friends or family worried, and Trouble. Knight et al. (2002) tested it on 538 teenagers attending a Boston hospital clinic; two or more yes answers caught eight in ten of those with a substance disorder while wrongly flagging about one in seven without one, and it caught more than nine in ten with dependence. Jaylen answers yes to using to relax, using alone, forgetting things and being told to cut down, a score of 4. A positive screen is not a diagnosis, but it justifies a full assessment.
The Diagnosis
Measured against the diagnostic checklist, Jaylen wants to cut down but keeps failing, a great deal of time spent obtaining and using, failure to meet school obligations, giving up basketball, continued use despite knowing it hurts his grades and tolerance, needing more to get the same effect. With six criteria met, his disorder sits at the border of moderate and severe. He does not report withdrawal symptoms beyond irritability and poor sleep when he cannot use, which also count toward the diagnosis. The screening for depression his mother suspected shows low mood that he attributes to failing school, below the threshold for a depressive disorder; it will be rechecked after a month of reduced use, since heavy cannabis use can itself cause apathy and low mood.
| Criterion met | Jaylen's example |
|---|---|
| Unsuccessful efforts to cut down | Tried twice this year |
| Time spent obtaining and using | Most of his pay, before and after school |
| Failure at school | Failing three classes |
| Activities given up | Stopped basketball |
| Use despite known harm | Knows grades are falling |
| Tolerance | Needs more concentrate than in the summer |
What Heavy Use Does to an Adolescent
Volkow et al. (2014) reviewed the adverse health effects of marijuana and highlighted risks that are greater when use begins in adolescence: impaired memory and attention during and after use, lower educational attainment, a higher likelihood of dependence, an association with later psychosis in vulnerable people and worse outcomes for mood. They also noted that the potency of cannabis has risen sharply, and the concentrates Jaylen vapes are far stronger than the cannabis studied in many earlier reports. Explaining these effects in terms of his own grades and basketball, rather than general warnings, is more likely to matter to him.
Choosing Treatment
Dennis et al. (2004) tested five outpatient treatments for 600 adolescents with cannabis use disorders in the Cannabis Youth Treatment study, including a brief five-session program of motivational enhancement therapy plus CBT, a longer version, family-based approaches and the Adolescent Community Reinforcement Approach. All five produced significant improvement in days of abstinence and in the proportion of young people in recovery over a year, and the brief five-session program was among the most cost-effective. For Jaylen, who is ambivalent but willing, the brief program is a reasonable first step, with family-based treatment held in reserve if he does not respond.
The Plan
Five weekly sessions combine motivational enhancement and CBT. The first two use motivational interviewing to explore what Jaylen wants, his grades and his place on the team, and how cannabis affects those goals, building on his own reasons rather than imposing a target. He chooses to stop using before school as a first step. The next three teach skills: identifying triggers, such as walking home past the same friends, refusing offers, managing boredom and sleeping without cannabis using a regular bedtime and no screens after eleven. His mother attends part of the last session, with his agreement, to learn how to support him without searching his room or lecturing.
There is no medication approved for cannabis use disorder in adolescents, and none is started. His sleep is addressed with behavioral measures first.
Measuring Progress
Self-reported days of use are recorded weekly on a calendar, supported by urine testing that he agrees to as part of the plan. His grades at the next marking period and his return to basketball are tracked as his own measures. If he has not reduced use after five sessions, referral to a family-based program is offered.
His mother is asked to report changes she notices at home, such as sleep and mood, without searching his room, so that progress is seen from more than one side.
Conclusion
Jaylen's positive CRAFFT screen led to a diagnosis of moderate to severe cannabis use disorder, with consequences visible in his grades and his life. Heavy adolescent use carries specific risks to memory, schooling and mental health. A brief program of motivational enhancement and CBT, delivered with clear confidentiality and his mother's measured involvement, is an evidence-based first step, with a plan to escalate if needed.
References
Dennis, M., Godley, S. H., Diamond, G., Tims, F. M., Babor, T., Donaldson, J., Liddle, H., Titus, J. C., Kaminer, Y., Webb, C., Hamilton, N., & Funk, R. (2004). The Cannabis Youth Treatment (CYT) Study: Main findings from two randomized trials. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 27(3), 197-213. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsat.2003.09.005
Knight, J. R., Sherritt, L., Shrier, L. A., Harris, S. K., & Chang, G. (2002). Validity of the CRAFFT substance abuse screening test among adolescent clinic patients. Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, 156(6), 607-614. https://doi.org/10.1001/archpedi.156.6.607
Volkow, N. D., Baler, R. D., Compton, W. M., & Weiss, S. R. B. (2014). Adverse health effects of marijuana use. New England Journal of Medicine, 370(23), 2219-2227. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMra1402309
NUR 7631 Module 1 instructions, in plain terms
Common mental health concerns of young people today are named in the NUR-7631 catalog paragraph, and as the course syllabus is not public, this first module starts with substance use. Expect a case analysis that screens with a validated tool, applies diagnostic criteria, explains the developmental risks and chooses an evidence-based treatment, while handling confidentiality and family involvement correctly. Some sections assign an alcohol or vaping nicotine case instead. Confirm whether your state's consent rules must be cited, and whether a parent interview is required. Interview the adolescent alone for part of the case, as the paper does, and show how that changes the history you obtain.
Inside the NUR 7631 Module 1 example
Jaylen's mother's complaint of attitude opens the paper, followed by his private account of daily vaping. A confidentiality section explains what stays private and why. The CRAFFT screen and its validation figures produce a score of 4. Diagnostic criteria are applied in a six-row table, with depression rechecked after reduced use. A review of adolescent harms is tied to his grades and basketball. The Cannabis Youth Treatment trials support a brief five-session program, with escalation named. The plan describes motivational and CBT sessions and his mother's role, and measures and a conclusion follow. The plan keeps a family-based option in reserve. A note explains why confidentiality is settled before the screen.
Where the marks sit in the NUR 7631 Module 1 rubric
Adolescent substance use cases are judged on correct use of a validated screen, accurate application of diagnostic criteria, explanation of developmental risks, an evidence-based treatment choice and careful handling of confidentiality and family roles. Mentors look for the adolescent interviewed privately and for consent rules respected. A stepped plan with an escalation point shows sound judgment. Measures should include objective data, such as urine tests the patient agrees to, and functional goals. A plan for when to involve parents, and how, is often what separates a strong analysis from an adequate one. Reviews and trials should be cited accurately in APA style. Attention to co-occurring mood symptoms, rechecked after use falls, adds depth.
NUR 7631 Module 1 help from the desk
Students often accept a parent's framing, such as depression or attitude, without interviewing the adolescent alone. Make the private interview part of the case. Another common gap is skipping the screen's validation figures or misusing it as a diagnosis. Apply the criteria one by one. Avoid scare tactics; link risks to the young person's own goals. Pick a treatment with trial support and name the next step if he does not cut down. Do not start medication without an indication, and treat sleep problems with behavioral steps first. Ask the desk for a first draft of the substance case in your NUR-7631 directions, free on the first request. Keep his own goals, basketball and grades, at the front of the plan.
Write yours, or have the desk draft it
This paper is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Thomas Edison State University document. Read it for the moves, then write your own to the instructions in your classroom. If you want one built to your exact prompt and rubric, the first custom sample is free and arrives in 24 to 48 hours.
More NUR 7631 and M.S. in Nursing, Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner sample papers
- NUR 7631 Module 2: Adolescent Depression Case: Fluoxetine, CBT and the Suicidality Warning
- NUR 7631 Module 3: Autism Case: Irritability, Parent Training, Risperidone and Aripiprazole
- NUR 7631 Module 4: Childhood Trauma Case: Trauma-Focused CBT After Witnessing Violence
- NUR 7631 Module 5: Eating Disorder Case: Medical Risk and Family-Based Treatment for Anorexia Nervosa
- NUR 7631 Module 6: Early-Onset Psychosis Case: Antipsychotic Choice and Metabolic Monitoring
- NUR 7641 Module 3: Tourette Disorder Case: YGTSS Scoring, CBIT and When to Medicate
- NUR 7642 Module 6: Postpartum Depression Case: EPDS Screening, Interpersonal Therapy and New Medicines
- NUR 7643 Module 6: Dementia Caregiver Case: Caregiver Strain, REACH II and Counseling That Delays Placement
- NUR 7632 Module 2: Generalized Anxiety Case: GAD-7, CBT and Comparing First-Line Medicines
NUR 7631 Module 1 questions, answered
Where can I find a free NUR 7631 Module 1 sample paper?
Jaylen's case, from CRAFFT screen to treatment plan, is printed above in full.
What is the CRAFFT screening test?
A six-item teen screen named for its questions (car, relax, alone, forget, friends, trouble); two or more yes answers should lead to a full assessment.
How is cannabis use disorder treated in adolescents?
Brief motivational enhancement therapy with CBT is an effective first step; family-based and community reinforcement approaches also showed benefit in the Cannabis Youth Treatment trials.
Can a parent see an adolescent's substance use history?
It depends on state law and the visit's ground rules; Jaylen was told that his answers stay private unless his safety or someone else's is at stake.
Is there medication for cannabis use disorder in teenagers?
No medication is approved for it in adolescents, so treatment relies on psychosocial approaches, with sleep and mood addressed directly.