Psychiatric comorbidity among adolescents with substance use disorders: Findings from the MECA study

Objective: To investigate the extent to which adolescents in the community with current substance use disorders (SUD) experience co-occurring psychiat ric disorders. Method: Diagnostic data were obtained from probability sampl es of 401 children and adolescents, aged 14 to 17 years, and their mothers/ caretakers, who participated in the Methods for the Epidemiology of Child a nd Adolescent Mental Disorders (MECA) Study. Results: The rates of mood and disruptive behavior disorders are much higher among adolescents with curre nt SUD than among adolescents without SUD. Comparison with adult samples su ggests that the rates of current comorbidity of SUD with psychiatric disord ers are the same among adolescents as adults, and lower for lifetime disrup tive disorders/antisocial personality disorder among adolescents than adult s. Conclusions: The high rate of coexisting psychiatric disorders among ado lescents with SUD in the community needs to be taken into account in preven tion and treatment programs.