Outpatient marijuana treatment for adolescents. Economic evaluation of a multisite field experiment.
An economic evaluation of five outpatient adolescent treatment approaches (12 total site-by-conditions) was conducted. The economic cost of each of the 12 site-specific treatment conditions was determined by the Drug Abuse Treatment Cost Analysis Program (DATCAP). Economic benefits of treatment were estimated by first monetizing a series of treatment outcomes and then analyzing the magnitude of these monetized outcomes from baseline through the 12-month follow-up. The average economic costs ranged from $90 to $313 per week and from $839 to $3,279 per episode. Relative to the quarter before intake, the average quarterly cost to society for the next 12 months (including treatment costs) significantly declined in 4 of the 12 site-by-treatment conditions, remained unchanged in 6 conditions, and increased in 2 treatment conditions (both in the same site). These results suggest that some types of substance-abuse intervention for adolescents can reduce social costs immediately after treatment.
French
Michael T
MT
University of Miami, USA.Frenchm@musc.edu
Roebuck
M Christopher
MC
Dennis
Michael L
ML
Godley
Susan H
SH
Liddle
Howard A
HA
Tims
Frank M
FM
D000293:Adolescent; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D003625:Data Collection; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D002189:Marijuana Abuse / Q000191:economics / Q000628:therapy*; D016320:Substance Abuse Treatment Centers / Q000191:economics* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014481:United States