NCJ Number
192169
Journal
Youth and Society Volume: 33 Issue: 2 Dated: December 2001 Pages: 143-168
Date Published
December 2001
Length
26 pages
Annotation
This article describes current approaches to juvenile drug treatment and summarizes research assessing the effectiveness of these models.
Abstract
Recent reports describe alarming trends of juvenile drug use and a lack of drug treatment. Early efforts in adolescent drug treatment relied on adult models that may not have considered the unique needs of adolescents. However, the development of intervention models designed specifically for adolescents has recently received increased emphasis. The 147,899 adolescents in drug treatment in 1998 included 69 percent in outpatient settings, 11 percent in intensive outpatient programs, 6 percent in short-term residential programs, 9 percent in long-term residential programs, and 6 percent in other treatment settings such as detoxification. Current approaches fall into four main modalities: 12 step, behavioral or cognitive behavioral, family based, and therapeutic communities. Research on the effectiveness of adolescent drug treatment is in its early stages. Most of the few available studies of effectiveness have methodological problems such as small sample sizes and varied methods of assessing drug abuse; such problems make definitive conclusions difficult if not impossible. The Federal Government’s Center for Substance Abuse Treatment and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation are initiating systems-level initiatives for adolescents to provide the foundation for helping communities establish evidence-based practices for youth. Table, figure, and 61 references (Author abstract modified)