ISSUES IN THE TREATMENT OF ANTISOCIAL ADOLESCENT SUBSTANCE-ABUSERS

Many adolescent substance abusers exhibit other forms of problem behavior, ranging from mild conduct problems to serious criminal offenses. In this article, the authors review previous work and present new data on antisociality and substance use from their research programs, which have focused on comorbidity in adolescents. These studies have examined rates of conduct disorder and other indices of antisociality in substance abuse treatment and psychiatric samples; correlates of antisocial personality disorder in adolescent substance abusers; the relationship between antisociality and relapse; and antisocial adolescents' self-reported reasons for use, beliefs about the effects of alcohol, and perceptions of family functioning. The clinical implications of the research are discussed and recommendations for treatment planning and future research are offered.