National analysis of differences among substance abuse treatment outcomes: college student and nonstudent emerging adults

Abstract

Objective: To discover differences between student and nonstudent substance abuse treatment demographics, treatment characteristics, and outcomes.

Participants: Conducted February 2014, clients without prior treatment admissions, aged 18-24, not in methadone maintenance therapy, and in nonintensive and ambulatory intensive outpatient treatment settings (N=467,233).

Methods: Chi-square was used to analyze differences. Multivariate logistic regression including covariates and the student status predicted successful completion with risk differences (RD).

Results: Students were more likely to successfully complete treatment than nonstudents (56.15% vs 41.96%; χ2=1355.04, df=1, p<.0001, RD=14.19, 95% confidence interval [CI] [13.43, 14.95]), and students were 6.92 (95% CI [6.26, 7.58]) percentage points less likely than nonstudents to remain in treatment for longer than 4 months (χ2=367.24, df=1, p<.0001).

Conclusions: Treatment providers seem to have greater results retaining students in shorter periods. Suggestions for higher education treatment engagement are discussed.

Keywords: college student; substance abuse; treatment outcomes.