SUBSTANCE USE DISORDERS IN AN ADOLESCENT INPATIENT PSYCHIATRIC POPULATION

This study examined the comorbidity of substance use disorders and oth er psychiatric disorders in adolescent populations. The study populati on was comprised of 100 consecutive admissions, ages 13 to 17, to an a cute care adolescent psychiatric inpatient unit For substance use diso rders. Patients were assessed using the Personal Experience Screening Questionnaire (PESQ) and the substance-use disorder portion of the Str uctured Clinical Interview for DSM IlI-R (SCID-R). Thirty-three (33%) patients were identified as having a substance abuse or dependence dia gnosis. There was no significant difference in the age between substan ce users and nonsubstance users. There were significantly more whites in the substance-using group. Sixty percent of all adolescents intervi ewed had histories of sexual or physical trauma, with trauma being sig nificantly more common in the substance-using group. There were no sig nificant differences in the number or type of other Axis I or Axis II diagnoses between the two groups. While substance users and nonsubstan ce users had no significant difference in the number of past psychiatr ic hospitalizations, nonsubstance users had significantly more past me dical hospitalizations. These results indicate that high rates of como rbid substance abuse and psychiatric disorders exist in adolescents, a nd more in-depth study of comorbidity among adolescents is warranted.