Adolescent Substance Abusers: Cognitive and Personality Variables as They Relate to Volunteerism, Legal Status and Treatment Outcomes

Abstract

The present study is an exploratory investigation involving two groups of adolescent substance abusers. One group is composed of individuals who seek help for a drug problem and volunteer for treatment; the other group is comprised of those on “legal status,” who are remanded into treatment, either by the criminal justice or family court systems. The study was undertaken to determine whether those who volunteer and those on legal status can be differentiated on various cognitive skills, involving intelligence-test information, visual-motor functioning, and academic achievement, as well as by gross emotional factors. In the present study, reading skills are roughly four years below that which would be expected by chronological age, and math skills are nearly six years below expectation based on the chronological age of the subjects. The present study demonstrates no statistical evidence that either group of substance abusers shows specific characteristics of personality or emotional development that separates them from the other group. The results would seem to suggest that those on a legal status may demonstrate as good or better outcome success and refute the notion that non-volunteers are insufficiently motivated to benefit from treatment. Legal Status may show less internalized emotional disturbance but evidence more anti-social, acting-out behavior, and show the damage of early neglect and object loss, characteristic of the borderline, characterologically disturbed individual. If drug abusers can be differentiated along this style, perhaps rehabilitative treatment programs should give consideration of those behavioral change methods which can be successful with internally motivated people.