Treatment outcomes in an adolescent chemical dependency program

A study was conducted of treatment outcomes for all admissions to an adolescent chemical dependency program over a ten-month period. Parents of patients were interviewed regarding their adolescents past behavioral characteristics, recovery-oriented behaviors, drug use status, and adaptive behavior before and after discharge. Among the adolescents 26% had a history of special education placement; 12% had been diagnosed as being hyperactive; 57% had not used any drugs or alcohol since discharge from the treatment program, and this rate increased to 82% for use within the past month. Parents of adolescents who had used drugs or alcohol after treatment most often described it as either a brief relapse, or a series of relapses, or lower levels of use than prior to admission. According to parents estimates, 17% of adolescents were using more than 10% of the time since discharge. The effect of various pre-treatment and treatment factors on outcomes were investigated. Better treatment outcome was associated with older adolescents, greater participation in aftercare, and less time passage since discharge. Retrospective ratings by parents of adolescents regarding depressed, delinquent, and hyperactive behaviors showed that before admission all scales were in a "clinical range." After discharge all scales were in the normal range except for girls, who showed a borderline clinical elevation on depressed behaviors.