Sunday, 16 January 2005 - 8:45 AM

This presentation is part of: Subtance Abuse in Adolescents

Prevalence and Predictors of Substance Use Among Foster Care Youth

Purpose: Although research has shown that substance abuse is a leading factor for children entering the child welfare system (Barth, 1994; Marcenko, Kemp, & Larson, 2000), few studies have examined substance abuse and disorder in the foster care population itself (e.g. Aarons, Brown, Hough, Garland, & Wood, 2001). This presentation addresses the dearth of research findings on substance abuse and dependence among youth in the foster care system by revealing recent findings associated with lifetime substance use, abuse, and dependence in a federally funded longitudinal study of adolescents in foster care.

Methods: A sample of 406 17-year old youth (90% of those eligible) residing in Missouri’s foster care system between December 2001 and May 2003 were interviewed in person by trained full-time professional interviewers on a number of different topics, including illicit substance, alcohol, and tobacco use and DSM-IV substance abuse and dependence criteria. Data analytic procedures consisted of descriptive statistics as well as a series of logistic regression models.

Results: Study findings indicate high rates of lifetime substance use and substance use disorders for youth in the foster care system. Forty-nine percent of all youth reported using an illicit substance during their lifetime with 45% reporting use in the last six months. Thirty-five percent of youth met criteria for a substance use disorder (DSM). Among a host of variables considered, diagnosis of Conduct Disorder was by far the strongest predictor of illicit substance use; presence of this disorder was associated with substantial increases in the odds for having ever used an illicit substance (OR = 8.3, CL = 4.3-16.3, p <.0001) and meeting criteria for a substance use disorder (OR = 6.1, CL-3.3-11.0, p < .0001). Additionally, youth in independent living situations or congregate care were more likely to meet substance abuse criteria and had increased likelihood of current and lifetime substance use. Surprisingly, family history of substance abuse or treatment and maltreatment history did not significantly predict youth substance abuse or dependence or lifetime use of alcohol or illegal substances.

Implications for practice: The identification of a particular population at risk for high rates of substance abuse (youth with Conduct Disorder) could be especially useful in prevention and early intervention efforts. Therefore, social workers should deploy appropriate screening tools for youth in the child welfare system as this may demonstrate specific utility for the implementation of evidence-based service provision for this often over-looked population.

References

Aarons, G.A., Brown, S.A., Hough, R.L., Garland, A.F., & Wood, P.A. (2001). Prevalence of substance use disorders across five sectors of care. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 40(4), 419-426.

Barth, R.P. (1994). Long-term in-home services. In D.J. Besharoy (Ed.), When drug addicts have children (pp. 175-194). Washington, D.C: Child Welfare League of America.

Marcenko, M.O., Kemp, S.P., & Larson, N.C. (2000). Childhood experiences of abuse, later substance abuse, and parenting outcomes among low-income mothers. The American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 70(3), 316-326.

See more of Subtance Abuse in Adolescents
See more of Oral and Poster

See more of Celebrating a Decade of SSWR (January 13 - 16, 2005)