MULTIDIMENSIONAL FAMILY THERAPY FOR ADOLESCENT DRUG ABUSE: RESULTS OF A RANDOMIZED CLINICAL TRIAL

TLDR

Each treatment represented a different theory base and treatment format. In a randomized trial of 182 adolescents, participants were assigned to one of three manualized, once‑weekly outpatient treatments—multidimensional family therapy, adolescent group therapy, or multifamily educational intervention—delivered by trained community clinicians and evaluated with a multimodal assessment at intake, termination, and 6‑ and 12‑month follow‑ups. All three treatments produced improvement, with multidimensional family therapy yielding superior gains overall, including sustained better school performance and family functioning at 12 months, thereby demonstrating its efficacy in reducing adolescent drug abuse and promoting adaptive development.

Abstract

Random assignment was made of 182 clinically referred marijuana- and alcohol-abusing adolescents to one of three treatments: multidimensional family therapy (MDFT), adolescent group therapy (AGT), and multifamily educational intervention (MEI). Each treatment represented a different theory base and treatment format. All treatments were based on a manual and were delivered on a once-a-week outpatient basis. The therapists were experienced community clinicians trained to model-specific competence prior to the study and then supervised throughout the clinical trial. A theory-based multimodal assessment strategy measured symptom changes and prosocial functioning at intake, termination, and 6 and 12 months following termination. Results indicate improvement among youths in all three treatments, with MDFT showing superior improvement overall. MDFT participants also demonstrated change at the 1-year follow-up period in the important prosocial factors of school/academic performance and family functioning as measured by behavioral ratings. Results support the efficacy of MDFT, a relatively short-term, multicomponent, multitarget, family-based intervention in significantly reducing adolescent drug abuse and facilitating adaptive and protective developmental processes.