The Comparative Effectiveness of Outpatient Treatment for Adolescent Substance Abuse: A Meta-Analysis

Multi-prong therapies centred on the family emerge as probably the most effective in this comprehensive and careful synthesis of the results of trials of non-residential programmes for substance using teenagers - but do the outcomes warrant the extra costs?

Causes and consequences of substance use disorders may differ for adolescents and adults. One implication is that evidence on the effectiveness of treatment for adolescents should be based on research conducted with adolescents, not inferred from research with adults. To this end, the featured review amalgamated findings from research on young people aged 12–20 to assess the relative effectiveness of different non-residential substance use treatments for young people. Read more...