Trauma exposure and retention in adolescent substance abuse treatment.
Trauma exposure and related symptoms interfere with adult adherence to drug treatment. Whether these findings hold true for adolescents is unknown. We examined trauma exposure, PTSD symptoms, and psychosocial functioning among 212 adolescents upon admission to long-term residential drug treatment and examined retention in treatment at 6 months. Seventy-one percent reported lifetime trauma exposure, and 29% of the trauma-exposed met criteria for current PTSD. Trauma-exposed adolescents reported more behavioral problems, with gender differences apparent. We divided the sample into three groups: no trauma exposure (21%), trauma-exposed without PTSD (59%), and trauma-exposed with PTSD (20%). Survival analysis showed that trauma-exposed adolescents without PTSD left treatment sooner than the nonexposed. Need for attention to trauma in substance abuse treatment programs is discussed.
Jaycox
Lisa H
LH
RAND, Arlington, Virginia 22202, USA. jaycox@rand.org
Ebener
Patricia
P
Damesek
Leslie
L
Becker
Kirsten
K
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D010352:Patient Dropouts / Q000523:psychology*; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology* / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D016019:Survival Analysis; D014481:United States