Citation

Hammond CJ, Gray KM. J. Child Adolesc. Subst. Abuse 2016; 25(4): 292-316.

Copyright

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

DOI

10.1080/1067828X.2015.1037517

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Despite recent advances in psychosocial treatments targeting adolescent substance use disorders (SUD), effect sizes generally remain small to modest, and few treatment-enrolled youths achieve sustained abstinence. Among adults, SUD-targeted pharmacotherapies have emerged as viable options to complement psychosocial treatments and enhance outcomes. Developmental differences exist in pharmacodynamics and treatment response, and comparatively little research has focused on SUD-targeted pharmacotherapies for youths. This article provides a review and synthesis of relevant published clinical trials focusing on youth SUDs and co-occurring/comorbid psychiatric and substance use disorders. It offers recommendations for clinical practice and further research based on the limited findings to date.