Family-Based Interventions for Helping Drug-Abusing Adolescents

Abstract

This article describes the efficacy of two family-oriented, outpatient drug interventions for 84 adolescents who had used and abused drugs. Together, the two brief drug interventions appeared to significantly reduce the drug use of nearly one-half of the adolescentts who received the two family-focused drug interventions. It is surmised that this slccess was due partly to the fact that both outpatient interventions focus on the sxystemic treatment of entire familv groups rather than being given to the adolescents as inidiv iduals. WVheti comnpared, however the family therapy intervention appears to have been effectiv e itn reducing drug use for a greater percentage of the adolescents than did the familv education intervention.