title: Pharmacotherapy for Substance Use Disorders in Youths.
abstract: Despite recent advances in psychosocial treatments targeting adolescent substance use disorders (SUD), effect sizes generally remain small to modest, and few treatment-enrolled youth achieve sustained abstinence. Among adults, SUD-targeted pharmacotherapies have emerged as viable options to complement psychosocial treatments and enhance outcomes. Developmental differences exist in pharmacodynamics and treatment-response, and comparatively little research has focused on SUD-targeted pharmacotherapies for youth. This article provides a review and synthesis of relevant published clinical trials focusing on youth SUDs and co-occurring/comorbid psychiatric and substance use disorders. It offers recommendations for clinical practice and further research based on the limited findings to date.
authors.affiliation: Yale Child Study Center, New Haven, CT, USA.
authors.forename: Christopher J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Hammond
authors.affiliation: Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA.
authors.forename: Kevin M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Gray
keywords: adolescence; pharmacotherapy; substance use disorders; youth