TREATING ADOLESCENT DRUG ABUSE: A COMPARISON OF FAMILY SYSTEMS THERAPY, GROUP THERAPY, AND FAMILY DRUG EDUCATION

The differential effectiveness of three models of adolescent drug abuse treatment was assessed in a controlled outcome study. Family Systems Therapy (FST) was compared to Adolescent Group Therapy (AGT) and Family drug Educations (FDE). FST appeared to be more effective in stopping adolescent drug abuse than AGT or FDE, registering twice as many apparently drug-free clients than FDE and three times as many as AGT. However, a number of possible confounds make this conclusion tentative. No tretment approach was superior in altering patterns of family functioning although all three conditions improved perceived intergenerational communication.