Cost-effectiveness analysis of four interventions for adolescents with a substance use disorder
Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment
Article in Press, Corrected Proof 28 June 2007




The present study attempted a cost-effectiveness analysis of four interventions, including family-based, individual, and group cognitive behavioral approaches, for adolescents with a substance use disorder.

The results indicated that treatment costs varied substantially across the four interventions.

Moreover, family therapy showed significantly better substance use outcome compared to group treatment at the 4-month assessment, but group treatment was similar to the other interventions for substance use outcome at the 7-month assessment and for delinquency outcome at both the 4- and 7-month assessments.

These findings over a relatively short follow-up period suggest that the least expensive intervention (group) was the most cost-effective.

However, this study encountered numerous data and methodological challenges in trying to supplement a completed clinical trial with an economic evaluation. These challenges are explained and recommendations are proposed to guide future economic evaluations in this area.

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