Salient Variables for Treatment Research of Adolescent Alcohol and Other Substance Use Disorders

• NCJ Number: 207801
• Journal: Addiction Volume: 99 Issue: 2 Dated: November 2004 Pages: 23-37
• Author(s): Oscar G. Bukstein; Ken Winters
• Editor(s): Cherry Lowman
• Date Published: November 2004
• Length: 15 pages
• Grant Number(s): AA00301; DA12995; DA015347
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Health and Human Services; National Institute on Drug Abuse
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This paper describes the rational for adopting a core set of variables in adolescent treatment research for adolescents with substance use disorders (SUD's) and the main categories and types of variables and methods for collecting data on these variables.

Abstract

Despite public sanctions against underage use of alcohol and other illicit substances, substance use and abuse by adolescents continues to be a critical and prevalent health problem for the western culture. This paper advocates a common set of core variables for effective adolescent treatment studies for adolescents with substance use disorders (SUD's). The paper describes the rational for uniformity and consistency in the type of data or variables collected; the need to allow for a cross-study comparison, as well as ease in meta-analyses of adolescent treatment studies. It is stated that investigators or researchers should attempt to speak the same language in the form of common, core variables. The paper discusses the current status of treatment research for adolescent SUD's, the types of treatment variables, the measurement of variables, baseline characteristics, the idea of process and theory-driven variables, and effectiveness studies and transporting treatment of clinical settings. Tables, references