The primary purpose of this study was to determine, for a court-adjudicated adolescent male sample (N = 160) mandated to a residential program setting, the degree to which their expressed motivation for getting help with their alcohol, illicit drug and illegal behavior problems was found to predict to the outcome of an early intervention treatment…

For the inner-city, low SES African-American community sample of this study, prospective data on childhood educational performance and adjustment to school was available for use as control variables in analyses planned for predicting from early adolescent substance use/abuse to work history during adulthood. Results: (1) For the male sub-sample (N…

In this prevention-early intervention project, court-adjudicated male adolescents were randomly assigned to either a program participant group, or to a control group. Results showed that the program group reported a significantly greater degree of reduction in drug use/abuse, and in the selling of drugs, but not in alcohol use, or in illegal…

Study looked at sample of African-American adolescent males to determine the degree to which family structure (e.g., single parent vs. two-parent families) vs. the nature of the family relationships predict sons' involvement in substance use/abuse and illegal behavior. Of 33 relationships measures analyzed, 3 predicted the degree of recent…

Examines characteristics that predict treatment outcomes for adolescents in inpatient (N=157) versus outpatient (N=296) treatment. Results show that a number of the characteristics found prognostics for adolescents are different from those reported from other studies for adult substance abusers. (MKA)

Illegal behavior, drug trafficking, and substance abuse levels of two groups (both parents, mother only) of inner-city African-American youth were compared. African-American subjects who had been raised in mother-only households reported significantly fewer illegal offenses. Findings are contrary to common attitudes regarding the effects of…

A multi-city study compared black and white adolescent substance abusers (N=487). Variables investigated included socioeconomic status (SES), welfare, types of family organization, and money spent on alcohol and drugs. Severity of abuse was less for blacks than for whites except for crack and heroin. (EMK)

Study of 176 adolescent drug abusers found that greater psychopathology at pretreatment was not found to be related to less improvement in drug treatment. For the male subsample, greater paranoid trends predicted to less reduction in substance use/abuse. Borderline psychotic symptomatology predicted to more improvement. (RJM)

Describes investigation examining relationship between adolescent drug abuser's motivation to seek treatment and treatment outcome in both inpatient and outpatient settings. Found moderate relationship between motivation and problem reduction. Found that motivation to seek assistance with other life problems correlated positively with problem…

Gathered substance use histories from African American male (n=318) and female (n=322) adolescents to determine whether gender differences affected early life risk factors for drug use or abuse. Family variables and subject behavior predicted degree of substance use and frequency of intoxication, but no risk factor applied to both genders. (SNR)