Outcomes of a comprehensive treatment program for adolescents with a substance-use disorder

Outcomes of a multimodal residential treatment program for adolescents were compared with usual care. The quasiexperimental design included pretest, 3-month posttest, and 6-month follow-up of program referrals (mean age 16; 53% male). The intervention group (IG) comprised referrals who entered the program (n=61) and the comparison group (CG) comprised referrals who did not enter the program (n=60). The six outcomes (substance use, criminal behavior, social functioning, psychological distress, physical health, and HIV risk-taking behavior) were assessed using the Opiate Treatment Index and the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised. The study groups demonstrated equivalent improvement on all six outcomes. Multiple factors are likely to have influenced these results, including inadequate program implementation and differential drop-out. There was, however, a higher prevalence of multiple improvements among the IG than the CG. It is concluded that adolescents with a PSUD can improve, however, a superior means of achieving this improvement has yet to be demonstrated.