Young Adult Drug Rehab Statistics - Not Very PromisingIt is an accepted fact that once a person has succumbed to substance addiction, he can never really completely recover, even after comprehensive drug detox and rehab treatment. Relapse or “falling off the wagon” is the biggest worry of the recovering addict. Almost anything (like work stress or emotional upheaval) can trigger a relapse if one is not vigilant. The following are some drug rehab statistics specifically for recovering adolescents that may provide more awareness of the post-rehab situation for drug dependents and their loved ones. These statistics could also be used to prevent relapse. Studies have shown that adolescents who undergo young adult drug treatment have a high tendency to relapse. About 58% of treated adolescents fail to complete a 12-month period of abstinence following treatment, compared to a 34% failure of treated adults. Approximately 78% of the adolescents who relapse do so in the first six months after inpatient treatment. Of the remaining 22% of treated adolescents, 77% stay clean for a whole year. Forty-percent of those who have a relapse have short-term, low-impact relapses and manage to get back on the wagon quickly, while the other 60% do so for the long haul. This difference in adolescent and adult relapse statistics is probably due to the nature of the drug addiction. Most teenagers are already troubled prior to the addiction, perhaps due to normal teenage angst or an adolescent mental disorder. An adolescent substance disorder is basically the refusal of the adolescent to acknowledge that the addiction is real and that relapse is imminent. The mental disorder could be co-occurring and could be any type from anxiety to anorexia to bipolar disorder. The psychosocial problems that may also lead to drug abuse or addiction, and eventual relapse, include:
If the same conditions prevail after rehabilitation or remain untreated in the case of a mental disorder, the chances of a relapse are much higher. The role of aftercare has also been found to significantly reduce the incidence of adolescent relapse. In the absence of an aftercare program, 70% of adolescent tend to relapse to some degree after the inpatient program, while the rate of relapse for those with a regular aftercare program was only 40%. Recent studies by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration have confirmed that the relapse rates for adolescents who went through at least 30 days of drug rehab treatment after detoxification took longer to relapse than those who did not complete the 30 days. There is also evidence of a gender difference in relapse incidence. Females are less likely to relapse (22%) after treatment than males (32%) within six months after initial treatment. This was found in a study of 182 females and 148 males undergoing outpatient treatment. It was proposed that females are better able to cope because they participate more freely in group counseling and receive more social support from peers than males. These drug rehab statistics are true for a certain sector only and does not even include widespread studies in alcoholism. It would be in the best interest of those who care for recovering adolescent drug addicts to be aware of these and other studies on relapse prevention, especially in adolescent males. |