Increasing interest has been shown in brief interventions for troubled persons, including those with substance abuse problems. Most of the published literature on this topic has focused on adults, and on the efficacy of these interventions. Few of these studies have examined the critical issues of enrollment and engagement in brief intervention…

Inhalant and prescription medication abuse, particularly among adolescents, are serious problems in our society. Several risk factors associated with inhalant and medication abuse among adolescents have been identified. As a result, adolescents may suffer multiple consequences in a range of developmental areas. The purpose of this article is to…

This article describes three community-based research projects that are designed to enhance the effectiveness of real-world adolescent substance abuse treatment and prevention, and presents preliminary study results from each. The first project is examining statewide public sector practitioner interest in and implementation of contingency…

A unique application of the Many-Facet Rasch Model (MFRM) is introduced as the preferred method for evaluating the psychometric properties of a measure of therapist adherence to Contingency Management (CM) treatment of adolescent substance use. The utility of psychometric methods based in Classical Test Theory was limited by complexities of the…

This article describes the journey toward evidence-based transport and implementation in usual care settings of Multisystemic Therapy (MST) for youth with drug abuse and behavioral problems (Henggeler, Schoenwald, Borduin, Rowland, & Cunningham, 1998). Research and experience informing the design of the MST transport strategy, progress in…

The successful nationwide transport and evaluation of Multisystemic Therapy (MST) programs in Norway is described. This description is provided within the context of the nation's movement towards the adoption of evidence-based practices (EBPs) during the past decade, the conduct of a multisite randomized clinical trial to examine the effectiveness…

The field of substance abuse prevention has evolved towards a risk and protective factor paradigm in explaining the onset and escalation of adolescent substance use. This framework for understanding the problem has been developed and employed by researchers at the University of Washington, under Doctors Hawkins and Catalano, to assess communities…

Underage drinking continues to be a major problem in America. Approximately 20% of all alcohol consumed in the United States is consumed by minors with 44% of 8th graders and 77% of 12th graders reporting that they have tried alcohol at least once. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that, in 2003, as many as 3,657 drivers,…

The purpose of this study was to develop a valid and reliable instrument to measure the Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) constructs of smoking refusal skill-efficacy, positive smoking refusal outcome expectations & importance and negative smoking refusal outcome expectations & importance. This article details the rigorous instrument development…

Young injecting drug users are a particularly vulnerable group for Hepatitis C (HCV) infection. One method for minimising the risk of contraction of Hepatitis C for amphetamine users (not widely explored in the research to date) is through encouraging non-injecting routes of administration (NIROA). Self-report data from 150 young injecting…

Because of the vast improvements in adolescent substance use assessment, it is widely recognized that adolescent substance use disorders (SUD) encompasses diverse drugs, patterns and etiologies and are characterized by extensive heterogeneity in other life domains. The next step in advancing adolescent SUD assessment is to classify adolescents…

The development and psychometric properties of a brief screening tool for use with American Indian youth suspected of abusing substances is described. The Indian Health Service-Personal Experience Screening Questionnaire (IHS-PESQ) is a brief questionnaire that screens for drug abuse problem severity, response distortion tendencies, and…

Presents a three-dimensional model for conceptualizing existing prevention programs, defining and measuring effects of prevention programs, and making a connection between those programmatic effects, and the interests of the funder. This paper describes the methodology and its use for promoting the efficiency and effectiveness of substance abuse…

Evidence indicates that psychological dysregulation is an integral component of the liability for substance use disorder (SUD). This report discusses the rationale underlying the Dysregulation Inventory (DI), methods employed in item selection and scale construction, and preliminary results regarding psychometric properties. Results indicate that…

Describes the prevalence of sexual abuse among adolescents (N=938) admitted to residential therapeutic communities for treatment of substance abuse and related disorders. Results indicate that approximately one-third of the sample reported histories of sexual abuse. Prevalence rates were significantly higher for girls than for boys. History of…