Drug abuse treatment outcome study of adolescents: a comparison of client characteristics and pretreatment behaviors in three treatment modalities.

TLDR: This paper presented background and pretreatment characteristics of adolescent substance abuse treatment clients, and provided a mechanism for describing perhaps the largest research sample of adolescents who were in drug treatment in this decade, including 3382 subjects who presented for treatment from 1993 to 1995 in 37 programs in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Miami, Florida, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Chicago, Illinois, Portland, Maine, and New York City, New York.

Abstract: Objectives: The present study presents background and pretreatment characteristics of adolescent substance abuse treatment clients, and it provides a mechanism for describing perhaps the largest research sample of adolescents who were in drug treatment in this decade. Methods: The sample was 3382 subjects who presented for treatment from 1993 to 1995 in 37 programs in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Miami, Florida; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Chicago, Illinois; Portland, Maine; and New York City, New York. Informed permission for the youth to participate was obtained from the subject's custodial parent/guardian, and both the youth and the youth's parents or guardians provided informed assent if they agreed to participate as subjects. Adolescents then were interviewed privately and confidentially by a trained professional interviewer who was independent of the treatment programs. The interviews queried subjects about their background, including education and employment; physical and mental health; use of tobacco, al...