Characterizing substance abuse programs that treat adolescents

Mark, Tami L.; Song, Xue; Vandivort, Rita; Duffy, Sarah; Butler, Jutta; Coffey, Rosanna; Schabert, Vernon F.

doi:10.1016/j.jsat.2006.03.017

« Previous Next »Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment
Volume 31, Issue 1 , Pages 59-65, July 2006

Characterizing substance abuse programs that treat adolescents

Tami L. Mark, Ph.D., M.B.A.
- Department of Research and Policy, Thomson/Medstat, Washington, DC, 20008, USA
- Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 202 719 7832; fax: +1 202 719 2801.
Xue Song, Ph.D.
- Department of Research and Policy, Thomson/Medstat, Washington, DC, 20008, USA
Rita Vandivort, M.S.W.
- Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration, Health and Human Services, Rockville, MD 20857, USA
Sarah Duffy, Ph.D.
- Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration, Health and Human Services, Rockville, MD 20857, USA
Jutta Butler, B.S.
- Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration, Health and Human Services, Rockville, MD 20857, USA
Rosanna Coffey, Ph.D.
- Department of Research and Policy, Thomson/Medstat, Washington, DC, 20008, USA
Vernon F. Schabert, Ph.D.
- Integral Health Decisions, Inc., Santa Barbara, CA 93111, USA

Received 25 October 2005; received in revised form 1 March 2006; accepted 22 March 2006.

Abstract

Few systematic studies have examined the characteristics of substance abuse treatment programs serving adolescents. An expert panel recently identified nine key elements of effective adolescent substance abuse treatment. We measured the percentage of treatment programs in the United States with at least 10 adolescent clients on a given day that reported these elements using data from the 2003 National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services. This first look into the characteristics of facilities serving significant numbers of adolescents indicates that many facilities may be lacking in components considered important. The most significant measured potential areas for improvement occurred in the areas of including mental health as well as medical issues in comprehensive assessments and developing curricula to meet the developmental and cultural needs of clients. On a more encouraging note, many facilities were conducting discharge planning and providing aftercare, although the specifics of these services were not determined.

Keywords: Adolescents, Substance abuse treatment, N-SSATS, Treatment effectiveness, Comorbid illness