Maltreatment Issues by Level of Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment: The Extent of the Problem at Intake and Relationship to Early Outcomes

Differences in self-reported victimization and outcomes for residential (n = 114) vs. outpatient (n = 73) substance abuse treatment samples were examined. Repeated measures MANOVAs for victimization level by level of care were performed on days of alcohol and marijuana use and substance-related problems. Residential treatment participants reported higher prevalence of victimization and higher levels of general victimization but did not differ on acute (high) victimization at intake. Analyses revealed a significant interaction between follow-up outcomes and level of care for adolescents with acute intake victimization. Adolescents placed in residential treatment were more likely to reduce their days of alcohol and marijuana use and past month substance-related problems at follow-up. Adolescents with low intake levels of victimization did not differ by level of care. Findings suggest that clinicians must carefully weigh placement recommendations for adolescents with maltreatment histories and that researchers should study ways to increase outpatient treatment effectiveness for these adolescents.