Referral for Treatment among Adolescent Alcohol and Drug Abusers

Abstract

This research used logit analysis on a sample of adolescents referred for alcohol and other drug abuse treatment (N = 127, 72 males) and a randomly selected comparison group sample (N = 101, 51 males) of adolescents to test whether certain status characteristics increase the likelihood of referral to the treatment program. Results indicated that two status characteristics do so: labeling of the adolescent based on prior involvement in the social service delivery system and labeling of the adolescent based on a lower level of involvement in conventional groups. Gender did not affect the probability of referral directly, but the effect of level of involvement in conventional groups on referral likelihood depended on gender. Controlling for level of substance use, girls who were more involved in conventional groups and boys who were less involved in conventional groups were more likely to be referred. Implications for labeling theory and a policy of nonintervention for the commission of minor delinquencies are discussed.