Contingency management in community programs treating adolescent substance abuse: a feasibility study.
OBJECTIVE
Adolescent substance abuse remains a public health problem, and more effective treatment approaches are needed.


OBJECTIVE
The study aims to determine the feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of implementing a cost-effective contingency management (CM) intervention in community substance abuse treatment for adolescents with marijuana use disorders.


METHODS
Thirty-one adolescents with primary marijuana use disorder enrolled in a community treatment were randomized into either a prize-based CM intervention contingent when submitting negative urine drug screens (UDS) or a noncontingent control group.


RESULTS
There were no significant group differences in percent negative UDS, sustained negative UDS, or retention in treatment.


CONCLUSIONS
CM was difficult to integrate into community treatment programs and did not seem to be an effective adjunct to standard community substance abuse treatment for adolescents with marijuana use disorders. Modifying the CM procedure for adolescents, changing staff attitudes toward CM, and/or combining CM with other evidence-based psychosocial treatment may improve outcomes.
College of Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA. killeent@musc.edu
Therese K
TK
Killeen
Aimee L
AL
McRae-Clark
Angela E
AE
Waldrop
Himanshu
H
Upadhyaya
Kathleen T
KT
Brady
D000293:Adolescent; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D006801:Humans; D008385:Marijuana Smoking; D015813:Substance Abuse Detection; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000534:rehabilitation*