title: Treatment outcome for adolescents abusing alcohol and cannabis: how many 'reliably improve'?
abstract: Alcohol and cannabis are the primary substances contributing to referrals of adolescents to substance abuse treatment services. Their outcome has not been examined in Ireland. A three month follow-up was conducted in an outpatient adolescent treatment program. We followed up 35 high risk users of alcohol and 55 high risk users of cannabis. Although the high risk drinkers achieved a significant reduction in median number of days drinking (p = 0.004), only four (11 %) were abstinent at follow up. A further five (14%) achieved a reliable reduction in days of drinking. The high risk cannabis users demonstrated a significant drop in median days of use (p < 0.001), although only six (11%) were abstinent at follow up. A further 20 (36%) achieved a reliable reduction in days of use. Calculation of reliable change allows examination of outcomes which fall short of the elusive goal of abstinence.
authors.forename: B P
authors.initials: BP
authors.lastname: Smyth
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kelly
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Barry
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Cullen
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Darker
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000187:drug effects; D016497:Adolescent Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D019973:Alcohol-Related Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D003710:Demography; D005196:Family Therapy / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007494:Ireland / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D002189:Marijuana Abuse / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D015813:Substance Abuse Detection / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016320:Substance Abuse Treatment Centers / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016896:Treatment Outcome