Needs, Services Received, and Outcomes of Adolescents and Young Adults in Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Treatment

This chapter examines the characteristics and needs of substance misusing adolescents (ages 12–17) and young adults (ages 18–25), as well as implications for improving practice. The chapter begins with a review of the literature on prevalence, course, and correlates of substance misuse. It then uses a large treatment data set to provide a detailed description of the different demographics, substance use, and comorbidity characteristics of youth (ages 12–25) presenting to substance use treatment and explores how they vary by three demographic groups, type of substance problem, systems from which they could be recruited, and levels of substance use treatment. The chapter then focuses on using more detailed data on 16,361 youth from 208 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) grantee treatment programs in the United States who were interviewed with a standardized biopsychosocial assessment called the Global Appraisal of Individual Needs (GAIN). The chapter concludes with implications for assessing risk and assigning treatment.