| Treatment outcomes of adolescents diagnosed with substance use disorders seeking treatment at an outpatient community mental health center were examined using several demographic and treatment variables. The participants were 315 adolescents diagnosed with a substance use disorder who agreed to participate in a larger research study. All data and relevant information were gathered from the larger research study and other archival sources at the community mental health center. Outcomes were measured using the Youth Self-Report (YSR, Achenbach & Edelbrock, 1987), Youth Assessment and Screening Instrument (YASI; Orbis Partners, Inc., 2001), substance use status at discharge, and percentage of treatment goals attained. Various outcomes were compared based on gender, ethnicity, age, family composition, referral source, type of school, primary language spoken, number of total direct and indirect service hours, number of services hours by modality, number of admissions, and diagnosis severity and comorbidity. The primary research question being asked was: How are individuals' positive and negative current or past treatment outcomes related to subsequent treatment outcomes?;Multiple regressions and logistic regressions were conducted to examine the relationship between demographic and treatment variables and outcome measures. The null hypotheses were not rejected for predictors: direct service hours, number of admissions, family composition, referral source, type of school, substance use diagnosis, and comorbid diagnoses. The number of treatment modalities was related to the percentage of treatment goals attained at discharge. Age, gender, ethnicity, and primary language spoken were significant predictors for various risk factors on the YASI at intake. Limitations and implications of the findings as well as future directions are discussed. |
