title: Longitudinal change mechanisms for substance use and illegal activity for adolescents in treatment.
abstract: The current study investigated: (a) the relationships of exposure to the Adolescent Community Reinforcement Approach (A-CRA) with reductions in substance use, illegal activity, and juvenile justice system involvement in adolescents diagnosed with a substance use disorder, and (b) the pathways by which reductions in the target behaviors were achieved. This study is a secondary data analysis of longitudinal data from a large-scale implementation effort for A-CRA. The sample consisted of 1,467 adolescents who presented to substance use treatment and reported past-year engagement in illegal activity. Participants had an average age of 15.8 years (SD = 1.3) and were 25% female, 14% African American, 29% Hispanic, 35% Caucasian, 16% mixed ethnicity, and 6% other ethnicity. Path analyses provided support that participation in A-CRA had a significant, direct association with reduced substance use; a significant, indirect association with reduced illegal activity through reductions in substance use; and a significant indirect association with reduced juvenile justice system involvement through reductions in both substance use and illegal activity. In addition, post hoc analyses using a bootstrapping strategy provided evidence that reductions in substance use partially mediated the relationship between A-CRA and illegal activity.
authors.affiliation: Chestnut Health Systems, Lighthouse Institute.
authors.forename: Brooke D
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: Hunter
authors.affiliation: Chestnut Health Systems, Lighthouse Institute.
authors.forename: Susan H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Godley
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Illinois State University.
authors.forename: Matthew S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Hesson-McInnis
authors.affiliation: Department of Addiction, Tranzo-Tilburg University.
authors.forename: Hendrik G
authors.initials: HG
authors.lastname: Roozen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001741:Black or African American; D044383:Black People; D003156:Community Mental Health Services / Q000379:methods*; D003415:Crime / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D007604:Juvenile Delinquency / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D012054:Reinforcement, Psychology; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D044465:White People