title: Psychiatric comorbidity among adolescents with substance use disorders: findings from the MECA Study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the extent to which adolescents in the community with current substance use disorders (SUD) experience co-occurring psychiatric disorders.
  
  
  METHODS
  Diagnostic data were obtained from probability samples of 401 children and adolescents, aged 14 to 17 years, and their mothers/caretakers, who participated in the Methods for the Epidemiology of Child and Adolescent Mental Disorders (MECA) Study.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The rates of mood and disruptive behavior disorders are much higher among adolescents with current SUD than among adolescents without SUD. Comparison with adult samples suggests that the rates of current comorbidity of SUD with psychiatric disorders are the same among adolescents as adults, and lower for lifetime disruptive disorders/antisocial personality disorder among adolescents than adults.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The high rate of coexisting psychiatric disorders among adolescents with SUD in the community needs to be taken into account in prevention and treatment programs.
authors.affiliation: Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA.
authors.forename: D B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Kandel
authors.forename: J G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: H R
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Bird
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Weissman
authors.forename: S H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Goodman
authors.forename: B B
authors.initials: BB
authors.lastname: Lahey
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Regier
authors.forename: M E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Schwab-Stone
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology