Psychology

Treatment utilization after psychiatric inpatient hospitalization among adolescents with and without substance use disorders

Document Type

Article

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to examine rates of treatment services utilization in the 12 months after psychiatric inpatient hospitalization among adolescents with and without a substance use disorder (SUD). A secondary aim of the study was to examine treatment utilization, while controlling for psychiatric symptomatology, as a correlate of substance use outcomes among the subset of adolescents with a SUD. METHODS: The sample consists of 191 (62.8% women, mean age=15.4y) psychiatrically hospitalized adolescent smokers. Participants completed baseline assessments while inpatients and then again 1, 6, and 12 months after the hospital discharge. RESULTS: Seventy-one percent of the sample met criteria for a SUD. In the first month after discharge, adolescents with SUD were less likely to receive individual therapy than those without an SUD. Further, as expected, adolescents with SUD were more likely to engage in group therapy, primarily for substance use problems, and be placed in a residential setting and/or rehospitalized. Among the subset of adolescents with SUD, using stimulant medication was associated with the increased risk for drinking frequency, while engaging in group therapy was related to fewer days of marijuana use postdischarge. CONCLUSIONS: Relatively little evidence was demonstrated for the relationship between treatment service utilization in the year after inpatient hospitalization and alcohol and marijuana use outcomes. Ensuring that substance-abusing adolescents in psychiatric settings have their treatment needs met continues to be a significant public health priority. © 2007 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Inc.

Publication Title

Addictive Disorders and their Treatment

Publication Date

2007

Volume

6

Issue

4

First Page

147

Last Page

156

ISSN

1531-5754

DOI

10.1097/ADT.0b013e31802e9a24

Keywords

adolescents, aftercare services, comorbidity, inpatient treatment, substance use disorders

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