Trauma-Informed Care for Hospitalized Adolescents.

Purpose Of Review: Exposure to trauma accelerates during the adolescence, and due to increased behavioral and psychiatric vulnerability during this developmental period, traumatic events during this time are more likely to cause a lasting impact. In this article, we use three case studies of hospitalized adolescents to illustrate the application of trauma-informed principles of care with this unique population.

Recent Findings: Adolescents today are caught in the crosshairs of two syndemics-racism and other structural inequities and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Screening and Brief Advice to Reduce Adolescents' Risk of Riding With Substance-Using Drivers.

Objective: Alcohol- and drug-related car crashes are a leading cause of death for adolescents in the United States. This analysis tested the effects of a computer-facilitated Screening and Brief Advice (cSBA) system for primary care on adolescents' reports of driving after drinking or drug use (driving) and riding with substance-using drivers (riding).

Method: Twelve- to 18-year-old patients (N = 2,096) at nine New England pediatric offices completed assessments only during the initial 18-month treatment-as-usual (TAU) phase.

Adolescent substance use screening in primary care: Validity of computer self-administered versus clinician-administered screening.

Background: Computer self-administration may help busy pediatricians' offices increase adolescent substance use screening rates efficiently and effectively, if proven to yield valid responses. The CRAFFT screening protocol for adolescents has demonstrated validity as an interview, but a computer self-entry approach needs validity testing. The aim of this study was to evaluate the criterion validity and time efficiency of a computerized adolescent substance use screening protocol implemented by self-administration or clinician-administration.

Computer-facilitated substance use screening and brief advice for teens in primary care: an international trial.

Objective: Primary care providers need effective strategies for substance use screening and brief counseling of adolescents. We examined the effects of a new computer-facilitated screening and provider brief advice (cSBA) system.

Methods: We used a quasi-experimental, asynchronous study design in which each site served as its own control.

Primary care follow-up plans for adolescents with substance use problems.

Objective: Primary care visits provide an opportunity to screen adolescents for substance use and offer early intervention, but little is known about follow-up plans. The objective of this study was to determine recommendations by PCPs and assess the relationship between their diagnostic impressions of substance use severity and plans for intervention.

Methods: Data were collected through a prospective observational study conducted at 7 primary care practices in New England.

Adolescents' preference for substance abuse screening in primary care practice.

Objective: To assess adolescents' preferences for substance abuse screening in primary medical care settings.

Design/methods: Twelve- to 18-year-old patients (N = 2133) arriving for routine care at a network of primary care sites completed an interview that included demographic items, the CRAFFT screen, and a questionnaire assessing preferences for screening method (paper questionnaire, computer, oral interview by nurse or doctor). A subgroup (n = 222) completed the CRAFFT directly on the computer.

Prevalence of positive substance abuse screen results among adolescent primary care patients.

Objectives: To measure the prevalence of positive substance use screen results among adolescent primary care patients and to estimate the prevalence of substance-related problems and disorders.

Design: Cross-sectional survey.

Setting: A network of primary care practices in New England.

The "Six T's": barriers to screening teens for substance abuse in primary care.

Purpose: To identify barriers to adolescent substance abuse screening in primary care.

Methods: Focus groups were held at six primary care sites with a total of 38 providers. Providers brainstormed a list of barriers, collectively grouped similar barriers, and voted to produce a final ranked list.

Body modification and substance use in adolescents: is there a link?

Purpose: To describe the characteristics of body modification among adolescents and to determine whether adolescents who engage in body modification are more likely to screen positive for alcohol and other drug problems than those who do not.

Methods: Adolescents aged 14 to 18 years presenting to an urban adolescent clinic for routine health care completed a questionnaire about body modification and a substance use assessment battery that included the 17-item Problem Oriented Screening Instrument for Teenagers Alcohol/Drug Use and Abuse Scale (POSIT-ADS). Body modification was defined as piercings (other than one pair of bilateral earlobe piercings in females), tattoos, scarification, and branding.

Association of adolescent risk behaviors with mental health symptoms in high school students.

Purpose: To examine the hypothesis that self-reported symptoms of depression and stress may be associated with other risk behaviors.

Methods: A secondary data analysis of the 1992 Massachusetts Adolescent Health Survey involving a representative sample of 2,224 ninth and twelfth grade students was performed. The dichotomous dependent variable was positive if the adolescent reported feeling depressed or stressed for 10 or more days in the past month.