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A Meta-analytic Review

Stephen J. Tripodi, PhD; Kimberly Bender, PhD; Christy Litschge, MSW; Michael G. Vaughn, PhD

Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2010;164(1):85-91.

Objective  To assess the effectiveness of substance abuse interventions for their ability to reduce adolescent alcohol use.

Data Sources  MEDLINE; PsycINFO; ERIC; Wilson Social Science Abstracts; Criminal Justice Abstracts; Social Work Abstracts; Social Science Citation Index; Dissertations Abstracts International; National Criminal Justice Research Service; Social, Psychological, Criminological, Educational Trials Register; and the PsiTri databases from 1960 through 2008.

Study Selection  Of 64 titles and abstracts identified, 16 studies and 26 outcomes constituted the sample. The researchers calculated Hedges g effect sizes and used a random-effects model to calculate adjusted pooled effect sizes. Heterogeneity was explored using stratified analyses.

Main Exposure  Completion of a substance abuse intervention that aimed to reduce or eliminate alcohol consumption.

Main Outcome Measures  Abstinence, frequency of alcohol use, and quantity of alcohol use measured between 1 month and 1 year upon completion of treatment.

Results  Pooled effects of standardized mean differences indicate that interventions significantly reduce adolescent alcohol use (Hedges g = –0.61; 95% confidence interval [CI], –0.83 to –0.40). Stratified analyses revealed larger effects for individual treatment (Hedges g = –0.75; 95% CI, –1.05 to –0.40) compared with family-based treatments (Hedges g = –0.46; 95% CI, –0.66 to –0.26).

Conclusions  Treatments for adolescent substance abuse appear to be effective in reducing alcohol use. Individual-only interventions had larger effect sizes than family-based interventions and effect sizes decreased as length of follow-up increased. Furthermore, behavior-oriented treatments demonstrated promise in attaining long-term effects.

Author Affiliations: Florida State University, Tallahassee (Dr Tripodi); University of Denver, Denver, Colorado (Dr Bender); University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (Ms Litschge); and Saint Louis University, St Louis, Missouri (Dr Vaughn).

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