The course of narcomania in adolescence. A comparison of young psychiatric in-patients with and without drug abuse.
Eighty-four young drug abusers and 84 non-abusers admitted to a psychiatric ward were followed over a period averaging 3 years after discharge. According to information from the patients and their families, about one third of the abusers had stopped taking drugs and appeared to be well adjusted socially. The remainder had continued their abuse, periodically or continuously. Many of them had a large alcohol consumption. The incidence of delinquency was high, also for those who claimed to have ceased their abuse. Therefore, it seems doubtful that the course is as favourable as stated in the literature. The non-abusers had fared much better, two thirds of them showing satisfactory adjustment. As to prognostic factors, intravenous administration proved to represent a particularly bad sign among the drug abusers, whilst a high alcohol intake was of special significance among the non-abusers.
D000293:Adolescent; D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000175:diagnosis; D003415:Crime; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000150:complications*; D009664:Norway; D010359:Patient Readmission; D011379:Prognosis; D012917:Social Adjustment; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*