Paper
Friday, July 13, 2007
Unique Risk Factors for Substance Use Among Youth in Child Welfare
Cynthia D. Connelly, PhD, FAAN1, Andrea L. Hazen, PhD2, and Gregory A. Aarons, PhD2. (1) 1. University of San Diego Hahn School of Nursing; 2. Child and Adolescent Services Research Center (CASRC), San Diego, CA, San Diego, CA, USA, (2) Child and Adolescent Services Research Center, San Diego, CA, USA
| Learning Objective #1: identify two risk factors for substance involvement unique to youth in child welfare |
| Learning Objective #2: recognize the need for trans-disciplinary approaches to improve the health and welfare of youth in child welfare. |
The public health issue of adolescent substance use continues to be an international health priority (World Health Organization 2005), in part because opportunities for early identification and intervention are missed. Prior research has explored both risk and protective factors in the general population; however, there is a paucity of research on substance use among youth in child welfare, who may be at even greater risk for these problems. The purpose of this study was to examine risk factors for substance involvement for youth in the child welfare system. Data were derived from 214 youths ages 13 to 18, randomly sampled from youths active to child welfare in a large metropolitan area of Southern California. Severity of substance use was assessed though structured diagnostic interviews determining lifetime substance use, abuse, and dependence. The sample was ethnically diverse: 24.3% Caucasian, 22.9% Latino, 28.5% Black, 4.7% Asian/Pacific Islander, 13.1% bi-racial, and 6.5% “other or unknown”. Mean age was 15.39 (SD = 1.65); 50.5% 13-15 years of age and 49.5% 16-18 years of age. Fifty-six percent were female. Regression analyses including demographics, psychosocial variables, age at entry into child welfare, and number of out of home placements revealed both general and child welfare specific risk factors are associated with severity of youth substance involvement. Results indicate that youth in child welfare share many of the traditional risk factors for adolescent substance use as those in the general populations but also have unique risk factors: Number of out of home placements and older age at entry into the child welfare system were significantly associated with severity of substance involvement. Implications for policy, practice, and early prevention/intervention strategies will be discussed.