Brief Strategic Family Therapy versus Treatment as Usual: Extended Follow-up for

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The primary goal this project is to examine the long-term effects of outpatient treatments for illicit drug using adolescents. Specifically, this study proposes to complete a follow-up assessment with a sample of 379 young adults that participated in a recently completed effectiveness trial to examine the differential effectiveness of brief strategic family therapy (BSFT) and treatment as usual (TAU) in the rates of substance use, externalizing behaviors (including arrests and sexually risky behaviors), time in restricted settings (e.g., residential treatment, detention), and improvements in family functioning. The proposed study is designed to fill a knowledge gap regarding the long term effects of outpatient treatments for adolescent drug users and has implications for furthering research on both family therapy as well as treatment as usual in community agencies. Moreover, this study is particularly relevant for community-based agencies, and - as such - has broad implications for practice in outpatient adolescent substance abuse treatment. Also, the proposed sample includes a sizable population of African American and Hispanics participants. As such, the findings will be relevant for Hispanic and African American adolescent drug users, and will permit the evaluation of the long term impact of the interventions (BSFT and TAU) on specific racial/ethnic groups: African Americans, Hispanics and non-Hispanic Whites. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The primary goal this project is to examine the long-term effects of different outpatient treatments (brief strategic family therapy and treatment as usual) for illicit drug using adolescents. Given the stability and persistence of drug use over time, examining distal outcomes is critical for identifying effective strategies for preventing adult drug dependent careers. Moreover, the results of this study will have broad implications for practice in outpatient adolescent substance abuse treatment, and will be essential in furthering research on both family therapy as well as treatment as usual in community agencies.