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Treatment Outcomes for Substance Abuse among Adolescents with Learning Disorders

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Abstract

This paper assesses whether chemically dependent adolescents with comorbid learning disorders (LDs) derived less effective treatment results when compared to chemically dependent adolescents without LD and examines the moderating effects of prior treatments, treatment length, and treatment completion. Two hundred one adolescents were recruited between 1992 and 1993 from Massachusetts residential treatment centers and subsequently followed up 6 months after enrollment. Compared to chemically dependent teenagers without LD, those with LD were twice as likely to re-use substances at least once by follow-up. LD teenagers were more likely to attend Alcoholics/Narcotics Anonymous if they had prior admissions to treatment programs and longer treatment length. LD teenagers who completed treatment also experienced a greater decrease in current depression compared to LD teenagers not completing the treatment. This study is the first to consider outcomes of substance abuse treatment for adolescents with LD and contributes to the growing literature on comorbidity and substance abuse treatment.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (5 T32 HS000086), the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (5T76 MC 00001), the National Institute on Drug Abuse (DA-05834), and the W.T. Grant Foundation (86-1079-86).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Health Policy Studies, University of California, San Francisco, 3333 California St., Ste. 265, San Francisco, CA, 94143, USA

    Jennifer W. Yu ScD (Research Fellow)

Authors
  1. Jennifer W. Yu ScD
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  2. Stephen L. Buka ScD
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  3. Garrett M. Fitzmaurice ScD
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  4. Marie C. McCormick MD, ScD
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jennifer W. Yu ScD.

Additional information

Stephen L. Buka, ScD, is an associate professor in the Department of Society, Human Development and Health and the Department of Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, 677 Huntington Ave., Boston, MA 02115, USA. Phone: +1-617-4323870. Fax: +1-617-4323755. E-mail: sbuka@hsph.harvard.edu.

Garrett M. Fitzmaurice, ScD, is an associate professor in the Department of Biostatistics and Division of General Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, 1620 Tremont St., Boston, MA 02120, USA. Phone: +1-617-5257508. Fax: +1-617-4325619. E-mail: fitzmaur@hsph.harvard.edu.

Marie C. McCormick, MD, ScD, is a professor in the Department of Society, Human Development and Health, Harvard School of Public Health, 677 Huntington Ave., Boston, MA 02115, USA. Phone: +1-617-4323759. Fax: +1-617-4323755. E-mail: mmccormi@hsph.harvard.edu

Appendix

Appendix

Sample size (n) for prior admissions, treatment length, and treatment completion for treatment outcomes by LD groups

Outcomes

LD (n)

No LD (n)

 Effect modifiers

Substance re-use

  

 Prior admissions

14

34

 Treatment length >3 months

12

21

 Treatment completion

8

25

AA/NA Attendance 1+ per week

  

 Prior admissions

13

44

 Treatment length >3 months

11

42

 Treatment completion

8

44

Pre-treatment arrests

  

 Prior admissions

19

59

 Treatment length >3 months

20

60

 Treatment completion

13

76

Post-treatment arrests

  

 Prior admissions

5

18

 Treatment length >3 months

3

6

 Treatment completion

2

15

Pre-treatment depression

  

 Prior admissions

10

33

 Treatment length >3 months

7

33

 Treatment completion

8

22

Post-treatment depression

  

 Prior admissions

9

30

 Treatment length >3 months

5

24

 Treatment completion

3

19

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Yu, J.W., Buka, S.L., Fitzmaurice, G.M. et al. Treatment Outcomes for Substance Abuse among Adolescents with Learning Disorders. JBHSR 33, 275–286 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11414-006-9023-5

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