Communication Apprehension Mediates the Effects of Past Experience Discussing Substance Use on Child and Adolescent Psychiatrists ’ Self-efficacy

Substance use among adolescents is a serious problem in the United States. The most recent national Youth Risk Behavior Survey found that 63.2% of U.S. high school students had consumed alcohol in their lifetime, 38.6% had smoked marijuana, and 16.8% had abused prescription drugs [1]. Exacerbating the problem, certain individual difference factors put youth at greater risk of substance use. Adolescents in treatment for psychiatric illness, for example, have a higher prevalence of substance use [2], and research has shown that these adolescents are at a significantly greater risk for developing a substance use disorder (SUD) [3,4,5].
Source: Patient Education and Counseling - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Source Type: research