A new groundbreaking study by the drugs and alcohol treatment charity Addaction has found that young people respond well to treatment when it is carefully tailored to their needs, and the results when families are also included in treatment is even more positive.
The results of a three-year pilot project into young people and substance misuse, funded by the Big Lottery, are set out in a report entitled ‘Closing the Gaps’ to be launched next week (Tuesday March 24th).
Following their involvement in the Young Addaction Plus (YAP) project, 91% of the young people made positive changes to their lives, 96% tried to keep out of crime, and 82% either reduced or stabilised their substance misuse.
The findings were particularly striking given the severity of the problems the young people suffered when they first entered the project. The ages of the young people ranged between 10 and 19; they had complex drug and alcohol problems and their needs could not be met within mainstream services.
As a result of its findings, Addaction is calling for changes to the way young people are treated for drug and alcohol addiction problems. The charity calls for treatment to be tailored to take account of specific needs, and for services to be flexible enough to respond quickly to young people in vulnerable positions. It argues for more money to be spent on early interventions, to prevent the need for more costly interventions such as residential rehabilitation later on. Addaction wants to see dedicated family support becoming integrated into drug and alcohol treatment services, because of the improvement in results when families are included in treatment.
Commenting on the report, Adrian Auer, Chair of Addaction, said:
“Young people sometimes have major problems with their misuse of drink and drugs, but it is possible with commitment and an informed approach to change things for the better. I hope lessons from this report will inform policy and actions across our society.”
Addaction