Psychosocial and Clinical Correlates of Substance use Disorder in an Adolescent Inpatient Psychiatric Population

This study aimed at exploring the psychosocial and clinical correlates of substance use disorder in an adolescent inpatient psychiatric population.

During the period from 2006-2007, all subjects were systematically screened for substance use disorder (SUD) and were assessed for SUD characteristics by an independent support team using the RECAP (Joint Report on Drug Addiction and Treatment). Each SUD case was matched for age, gender, unit, and admission week, so as to compare a consumer sample (cases) with a non-consumer sample (controls). We retrospectively extracted data (socio-demographic and clinical characteristics) from charts to realize a case-control comparison. To assess Axis II borderline psychopathology, the child retro-DIB (Diagnosis Interview for Borderline) was used.

The sample included 30 cases and 30 controls between 14 and 17 years of age. SUD was significantly associated with maltreatment (p=0.038), loss of a first-degree relative (p=0.039), school absenteeism (p=0.035) and suicide attempts (p=0.02). Regarding psychopathology, significant co-occurrence was observed between SUD and conduct disorder (p=0.019), all personality disorders (p=0.003) and borderline personality disorder specifically (p=0.021).

Adolescent inpatients with SUD possess differential psychosocial and clinical characteristics and particular correlates that justify adopting a specific multidisciplinary approach to this high-risk clinical subgroup.