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

NCJ Number
199134
Journal
Child Maltreatment Volume: 8 Issue: 1 Dated: February 2003 Pages: 36-45
Author(s)
Rodney R. Funk; Melissa McDermeit; Susan H. Godley; Loree Adams
Editor(s)
Mark Chaffin
Date Published
February 2003
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This article examines the intake differences between self-reported number of days of emotional, physical, or sexual victimization and traumatic factors related to the abuse. An assessment is conducted on whether there are interactions between levels of intake victimization and level of care with respect to early outcomes.
Abstract
Several studies have linked childhood maltreatment with later substance abuse among adolescents. This study examined the differences in self-reported victimization and outcomes for residential versus outpatient substance abuse treatment samples. Participants (n=187) were administered the Global Appraisal of Individual Needs (GAIN), a standardized clinical assessment. Two measures of victimization were used: the General Victimization Index (GVI) and self-reported days of being victimized in the past 90 days. Adolescents placed in residential services were more likely to have reported incidents of victimization than those placed in outpatient services. Residential treatment participants reported higher overall levels of general victimization than outpatient treatment participants. When examining the relationship of victimization to outcomes, it was found that the outcomes of adolescents with low levels of victimization did not differ by level of care. The findings indicate the need for further study regarding assessment, placement decisions, treatment, and program infrastructures for this population. Study limitations are presented and discussed. References