What can we expect from treatment of adolescent drug and alcohol abuse?

Our fears about youthful substance abuse and our faith in popular treatments are misdirected. Most illicit substance use by the young is not pathologic or compulsive. Excessive substance use among the young most often involves alcohol. Youthful substance abusers tend to abuse many substances--therefore an understanding of substance abuse requires an awareness of individual motivation and of the person's social circumstances. Therapy lacking this understanding has proven fruitless. Our best hope for the young--whether or not they have significant histories of substance abuse--lies in engaging the natural processes of maturation, real-world rewards, and the creation of a world worth living in.