Characteristics and problems of 600 adolescent XXXX abusers in outpatient treatment.

@entity1 @entity1032 @entity167 @entity71 @entity645 @entity835 @entity9054 @entity734
AIMS: Risk factors among adolescent substance abusers have been shown to correlate with substance use severity. Characteristics related to severity, such as demographic and family factors, peer influences, psychiatric co-morbidity and @entity645 risk behaviors, are examined for a sample of adolescent @entity835 users entering treatment. DESIGN: These data are from a clinical trial study utilizing blocked random assignment of clients to one of five treatment conditions. The study targeted adolescents entering outpatient treatment for primarily @entity835 or @entity734 . SETTING: Treatment and research facilities in four metropolitan areas of the US were used to recruit study @entity1 . Treatment was delivered in outpatient drug-free settings. @entity1 : @entity1 were 600 clients, ages 12-18, admitted to outpatient @entity734 treatment programs for @entity835 problems, 96% with DSM-IV diagnoses of @entity734 or @entity734 , with the remaining 4% having at least one symptom of @entity734 plus significant problems indicating need for treatment. MEASUREMENTS: The Global Appraisal of Individual Needs (GAIN) was used to collect the information presented in this paper. The GAIN incorporates DSM-IV criteria for substance use disorders, @entity9054 and @entity71 , as well as dimensional (scale) measures for physical and mental health. FINDINGS: All @entity1 reported at least one symptom of substance use disorders, and 46% met the DSM-IV criteria for @entity734 , while 50% met criteria for a diagnosis of abuse. Only 20% of the @entity1 perceived any need for help with problems associated with their drug or @entity167 use. Clients participating in the study typically presented multiple problems at treatment entry, most often including @entity9054 , @entity71 ( @entity71 ), @entity1032 , and physical health distress. The co-occurrence of @entity9054 and @entity71 was found in 30% of the sample. Clients meeting criteria for @entity734 tended to have more co-occurring problems and significantly less denial at admission. CONCLUSIONS: The characteristics of this sample exemplify the complex nature of adolescent substance use and abuse among adolescents entering outpatient treatment programs. Patterns of co-occurring problems are at rates comparable to those found in other clinical studies. Those with more severe substance use disorders tend to manifest more problems of social functioning, more mental health problems, and physical health problems. Implications of these findings are discussed in terms of treatment needs, challenges, and prognostic implications.
