Citation

Serafini K, Toohey MJ, Kiluk BD, Carroll KM. J. Child Adolesc. Subst. Abuse 2016; 25(5): 391-398.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/1067828X.2015.1049394

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Anger is a common affective experience, yet it is relatively understudied in the substance use treatment literature. This study explored anger as a predictor of treatment outcomes in a large sample of adolescents. Data were extracted from the Drug Abuse Treatment Outcome Study for Adolescents (DATOS-A). An anger profile was created based on adolescents' pre-treatment responses to four items assessing history of temper outbursts and aggression. Individuals were classified as High Anger (N = 506) and Normal/Low Anger (N = 2,326) based on their pattern of responses to these items. High Anger at baseline was associated with several poor outcomes at the 12-month follow-up point, including a greater likelihood of experiencing delirium tremens, relapsing on drugs due to alcohol use, having difficulty controlling temper and behavior, and being arrested for attacks on persons.