title: Clinical predictors of treatment in a population of adolescents with alcohol use disorders.
abstract: The purpose of this paper is to identify potential predictors of treatment utilization, among both psychiatric and drug and alcohol variables. The subjects were 393 adolescents and young adults, age 12.9 to 18.11 years, who met DSM-IV criteria for a lifetime history of either alcohol abuse or alcohol dependence at baseline assessment. DSM-IV psychiatric and AUD diagnoses were obtained by semi-structure interviews (K-SADS and SCID). Other alcohol and drug variables were obtained by the Alcohol Consumption Questionnaire and other self-reports. The results of these analyses suggest that there are few potential predictors associated with substance use disorder (SUD) treatment. For mental health (MH) treatment, depression in the form of Major Depressive Disorder was relatively strong associated at baseline and follow-up, while Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Conduct Disorder appear to be associated with MH treatment at follow-up. For SUD treatments, there are essentially no variables strongly associated with treatment. The best potential predictors of who enters treatment and how long they stay may not be related to comorbidity or other dimensional variables of clinical severity. Rather, treatment utilization appears to be related to environmental factors, which may include family factors, adolescent and parental motivation, access to treatment, or to the use of appropriate treatment modalities.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA. buksteinog@upmc.edu
authors.forename: Oscar G
authors.initials: OG
authors.lastname: Bukstein
authors.forename: Jack
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cornelius
authors.forename: Annette C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Trunzo
authors.forename: Thomas M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Kelly
authors.forename: D Scott
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Wood
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology; D019973:Alcohol-Related Disorders / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D019955:Conduct Disorder / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D017831:Diagnosis, Dual (Psychiatry); D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D009042:Motivation; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000523:psychology*; D011379:Prognosis; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy