Continuing Care Utilization Among Adolescents With Substance Use Disorders

Date

2017-05

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Abstract

Adolescent substance use can have a wide range of negative effects and consequences that may result in a substance use disorder and the subsequent need for formal treatment and after-care. Given the growth of the use of multiple substances among all adolescents, and the upsurge of use among Hispanic youth, factors associated with successful continuing care towards recovery are of interest. The purposes of the present three studies were to (1) explore whether there were significant differences in measures of life satisfaction and perceptions of social support among adolescents enrolled in Recovery High Schools and non-Recovery High Schools; (2) examine the relationships between gender, youth-parent relationship, school of enrollment, and attitude towards school as predictors of a recovering adolescents’ academic performance; and (3) provide a review of the literature of available continuum of care resources for Hispanic youth experiencing substance use disorders.
First, results indicated that students enrolled in Recovery High Schools reported higher levels of life satisfaction, and second, the three factors – gender, attitude towards school and an adolescent’s relationship with a parent – all emerged as significant predictors of academic performance. Third, review of the literature indicated that Recovery High Schools are an appropriate model of continuing care for Hispanic youth experiencing substance use disorder. Results of these investigations provide initial evidence that Recovery High Schools are a model of continuing care that help reduce or even prevent the detrimental consequences – lower academic performance, poorer employment outcomes, poor familial relations, and increased mental illness – associated with substance use disorders.

Description

Keywords

Adolescents, Substance use disorders, Recovery High Schools, Continuing care

Citation

Portions of this document appear in: Glaude, Maurya, and Luis R. Torres. "Hispanic perspectives on recovery high schools: If we build them, will they come?." Journal of groups in addiction & recovery 11, no. 4 (2016): 240-249.