Treating adolescent addicts and alcoholics in adolescence-only centers has never been demonstrated to produce better recovery rates then treating them in multigenerational centers yet many professionals remain convinced of its superiority, according to new research.
An analysis of research and treatment philosophies in chemical dependency and mental health treatment, written by Shelly Marshall adolescent chemical dependency specialist, explores the possibility that teen centers have been focusing on the age rather then the addiction.
Abstinence rates post treatment for adolescents are dismal, Ms. Marshall said in a press release.
Yet it is well known that there is no standard for "rates of success" in addiction treatment outcome studies and a meta review of outcome studies from 1980 through 1993 published in Addictive Behavior reported that only 33.6 percent of studies used abstinence as an outcome variable.
In addition, Marshall notes, non-abstinent treatment goals are higher in programs aimed at young people.
An earlier study found that adolescents were 4 to 5 times more likely to maintain abstinence post treatment going through a multigenerational setting than an adolescent-only center.
Among the negative effects found in adolescent-only centers is the lower ratio of recovering staff, the differential treatment of younger patients by staff, the emphasis on family therapy over community 12 step support, the deviant peer influences, and low expectations in general for abstinence and recovery. The low opinion of treatment values held by adolescents has been shown to be a major cause of resistance to their treatment and is constantly reinforced in a same-age setting.
Treatment aimed at adolescents is more expensive, has a higher staff to patient ratio then regular treatment and does not have sufficient data to show efficacy, according to Marshall's review. Therefore, she concludes, chemical dependency clinicians should consider placing adolescents in multigenerational centers for the purpose of treating addiction, not adolescence.