Adolescent and parent perceptions of outpatient substance abuse treatment: a qualitative study

This exploratory study used in-depth interviews with 12 adolescent participants and four parents to describe their perceptions of outpatient substance abuse treatment. Adolescents found treatment to be different than they had expected, expressed preferences for different session formats (group, individual, family), and defined treatment success in different ways than their parents. There were no common themes regarding what adolescents and parents liked best or least about treatment. Findings suggest several implications for treatment providers and areas for future study: (a) the need to provide detailed descriptions of treatment to referral sources and orientation for adolescents and their parents prior to entry; (b) the need to make skill-building sessions interesting and limit their repetition; (c) the need to group adolescents by severity or problem type; (d) the need for flexibility and assertive outreach to improve family involvement in treatment; and (e) the need to provide adolescent treatment consumers and their parents with data regarding treatment success from a number of perspectives (e.g. substance use, associated problems, school performance). This study illustrates that adolescents and their parents are important sources of information about the treatment experience and may provide useful ideas for enhancing treatment engagement and retention.