To test or not to test: screening for substance use in adolescents

Testing for drugs of abuse in children and adolescents

Drug testing is often used as part of an assessment for substance use in children and adolescents. However, the indications for drug testing and guidance on how to use this procedure effectively are not clear. The complexity and invasiveness of the procedure and limitations to the information derived from drug testing all affect its utility. The objective of this clinical report is to provide guidance to pediatricians and other clinicians on the efficacy and efficient use of drug testing on the basis of a review of the nascent scientific literature, policy guidelines, and published clinical recommendations.

Assertive outreach strategies for narrowing the adolescent substance abuse treatment gap: implications for research, practice, and policy

In any given year, only about 10% of the nearly two million adolescents exhibiting substance abuse or dependence in the United States receive substance abuse treatment. Given this state of affairs, it is unlikely that the massive effort and expenditure of resources over the past decade on developing, testing, and disseminating effective treatments for adolescent substance abuse will have an appreciable impact on the prevalence of substance use disorders among the adolescent population. In order to substantially diminish the pervasive gap between levels of need for and utilization of adolescent substance abuse treatment, specialized assertive outreach strategies may be needed. This paper outlines a framework for assertive outreach for adolescents with substance use disorders and proposes specific types of strategies for identifying and enrolling such adolescents into treatment. Implications for practice and policy pertaining to adolescent substance abuse treatment service delivery are considered.