Outcomes of a comprehensive treatment program for adolescents with a substance-use disorder

Outcomes of a multimodal residential treatment program for adolescents were compared with usual care. The quasiexperimental design included pretest, 3 -month posttest, and 6-month follow-up of program referrals (mean age 16; 5 3% male). The intervention group (IG) comprised referrals who entered the p rogram (n = 61) and the comparison group (CG) comprised referrals who did n ot enter the program (n = 60). The six outcomes (substance use, criminal be havior, social functioning, psychological distress, physical health, and HI V risk-taking behavior) were assessed using the Opiate Treatment Index and the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised. The study groups demonstrated equivalent improvement on all six outcomes. Multiple factors are likely to have influe nced these results, including inadequate program implementation and differe ntial drop-out. There was, however, a higher prevalence of multiple improve ments among the IG than the CG. It is concluded that adolescents with a PSU D can improve, however, a superior means of achieving this improvement has yet to be dem onstrated. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved .