Treatment of Adolescent Substance Use Disorders and Co-Occurring Internalizing Disorders: A Critical Review and Proposed Model

Title:Treatment of Adolescent Substance Use Disorders and Co-Occurring Internalizing Disorders: A Critical Review and Proposed Model

Volume: 8 Issue: 1

Author(s): Leslie A. Hulvershorn, Patrick D. Quinn and Eric L. Scott

Affiliation:

Keywords: Adolescent, co-occurring psychiatric disorders, evidence-based treatments, substance use disorders.

Abstract: Background: The past several decades have seen dramatic growth in empirically supported treatments for adolescent substance use disorders (SUDs), yet even the most well-established approaches struggle to produce large or long-lasting improvements. These difficulties may stem, in part, from the high rates of comorbidity between SUDs and other psychiatric disorders.

Method: We critically reviewed the treatment outcome literature for adolescents with co-occurring SUDs and internalizing disorders.

Results: Our review identified components of existing treatments that might be included in an integrated, evidence-based approach to the treatment of SUDs and internalizing disorders. An effective program may involve careful assessment, inclusion of parents or guardians, and tailoring of interventions via a modular strategy.

Conclusions: The existing literature guides the development of a conceptual evidence-based, modular treatment model targeting adolescents with co-occurring internalizing and SUDs. With empirical study, such a model may better address treatment outcomes for both disorder types in adolescents.

Cite this article as:

A. Hulvershorn Leslie, D. Quinn Patrick and L. Scott Eric, Treatment of Adolescent Substance Use Disorders and Co-Occurring Internalizing Disorders: A Critical Review and Proposed Model, Current Drug Abuse Reviews 2015; 8 (1) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/1874473708666150514102745