Family history of mental illness provides important information when evaluating pediatric bipolar disorder (PBD). However, such information is often challenging to gather within clinical settings. This study investigates the feasibility and utility of gathering family history information using an inexpensive method practical for outpatient…

This report uses data from the Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS) for 2008 to provide information on the characteristics of youths aged 12 to 14 admitted to substance abuse treatment. In 2008, approximately 23,770 substance abuse treatment admissions were adolescents aged 12 to 14. The two most frequently reported primary substances of abuse among…

Studies of the therapeutic alliance typically use a one-with-many (OWM) design in which each therapist (the one) treats multiple clients (the many). This study used Kenny, Kashy, and Cook's (2006) OWM method to examine the composition of the therapeutic alliance and to analyze the association between alliance and outcome in a sample of 398…

Using latent class/transition analyses, this study: (a) identified subgroups of youth based on their targeted communication about substance use with parents and friends, (b) examined subgroup differences in substance use, and (c) considered changes in subgroup membership over four years. Among 5,874 youth, five subgroups emerged, with parents-only…

Local governments play an important role in improving substance abuse and mental health services. The structure of the local learning collaborative requires careful attention to old relationships and challenges local governmental leaders to help move participants from a competitive to collaborative environment. This study describes one county's…

Therapeutic communities have become increasingly popular among correctional agencies with drug-involved offenders. This quasi-experimental study followed a group of inmates who participated in a prison-based therapeutic community in a California state prison, with a comparison group of matched offenders, for more than 5 years after their initial…

In the context of talk about changing their lives, incarcerated young men and their supervisors talk about faith as a force for positive change. Given the historical and contemporary significance of religion as a locus of organizing and collective struggle, I argue that faith represents a potential asset in efforts to assist incarcerated young…

Meditation has been studied as a way of reducing stress in counseling clients since the 1960s. Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, and new wave behavior therapies incorporate meditation techniques in their programs. This article identifies meditation's curative factors and limitations when using meditation in addiction settings.

Media literacy education teaches youth to critically examine the influence of media messages on health and substance use behavior. A small group of low-achieving middle school students at high risk for substance abuse attending an afterschool academic remediation program received a media literacy intervention intended for elementary students in a…

The objective of the present study is to review the evidence on the effectiveness concerning the Saluda program, a school-based substance use prevention protocol used amongst adolescents. We provide a description of the program content and the results from nine controlled trials evaluating the program effectiveness. Participants were Spanish…

For adolescents with substance use problems, it is unknown whether the provision of normative feedback is a necessary active ingredient in motivational interviewing (MI). This study investigated the impact of normative feedback on adolescents' readiness to change and perceptions of MI quality. Adolescents referred for substance use disorder (SUD)…

Background: Several studies have shown that substance use levels among adolescents living in residential youth care are high. However, it is not clear to what extent adolescents initiate (heavy) substance during their stay and to what extent these rates are higher than would be expected based on their risk profile. Objective: The aim of the…

Children and adolescents are exposed to multiple contextual influences along their development towards adulthood. Before they transition to adulthood, adolescents acquire skills and knowledge usually in schools, which are one of the most influential contexts during adolescence. During school years performing well academically can generate better…

There is a great deal of literature to suggest that experiencing traumatic events in childhood often leads to problematic outcomes in adulthood. Not all individuals who experience such trauma, however, arrive at the same end point. The concept of resilience has been promoted as one of the ways in which individuals experiencing similar life events…

Little is known about the social networks of homeless youth in emerging adulthood despite the importance of this information for interventions to reduce health risks. This study examined the composition of social networks, and the risks and supports present within them, in a random sample of 349 homeless youth (33.4% female, 23.9% African…