U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

NCJRS Virtual Library

The Virtual Library houses over 235,000 criminal justice resources, including all known OJP works.
Click here to search the NCJRS Virtual Library

Randomized Trial of Family Therapy Versus Nonfamily Treatment for Adolescent Behavior Problems in Usual Care

NCJ Number
306353
Journal
Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology Volume: 44 Issue: 6 Dated: 2015 Pages: 954-969
Author(s)
Aaron Hogue ; Sarah Dauber ; Craig E. Henderson ; Molly Bobek ; Candace Johnson ; Emily Lichvar ; Jon Morgenstern
Date Published
November 2015
Length
16 pages
Annotation

This randomized trial compared usual care family therapy (UC-FT), implemented without a treatment manual or extramural support as the standard-of-care approach in a community clinic, to nonfamily treatment (UC-Other) for adolescent conduct and substance use disorders.

Abstract

The study recruited 205 adolescents (M age = 15.7 years; 52% male; 59% Hispanic American, 21% African American) from a community referral network, enrolling 63% for primary mental health problems and 37% for primary substance use problems. Clients were randomly assigned to either the UC-FT site or one of five UC-Other sites. Implementation data confirmed that UC-FT showed adherence to the family therapy approach and differentiation from UC-Other. Follow-ups were completed at 3, 6, and 12 months postbaseline. There was no between-group difference in treatment attendance. Both conditions demonstrated improvements in externalizing, internalizing, and delinquency symptoms. However, UC-FT produced greater reductions in youth-reported externalizing and internalizing among the whole sample, in delinquency among substance-using youth, and in alcohol and drug use among substance-using youth. The degree to which UC-FT outperformed UC-Other was consistent with effect sizes from controlled trials of manualized family therapy models. Non-manualized family therapy can be effective for adolescent behavior problems within diverse populations in usual care, and it may be superior to nonfamily alternatives. (Published abstract provided)