Youth Require Tailored Treatment for Opioid Use and Mental Health Problems: A Comparison with Adults
Abstract
Objectives: Opioid use has reached crisis proportions in Canada. Youth comprise a particularly vulnerable group, yet little is known about their presenting issues and service needs. This study examined substance use, mental health, and behavioural health problems among youth seeking treatment for problematic opioid use and compared youth and adult samples to understand youth's unique treatment needs. Methods: Participants (n = 120) included 44 youth (17–25 years) and 76 adults (26–57 years) seeking treatment for problematic opioid use from a large Canadian mental health facility. Participants completed measures of sociodemographics, substance use, mental, and behavioural health. Results: Compared with adults, youth reported greater substance use severity requiring intensive intervention (P = 0.002), higher rates of substance use by injection (P = 0.032), and increased fentanyl use (P = 0.008). Youth engaged in more polysubstance use (P = 0.029) and harmful/hazardous alcohol use (P = 0.003). More youth than adults struggled with symptoms of depression (P = 0.005), externalizing disorders (P = 0.005), and crime/violence problems (P = 0.005). Both youth and adults presented with impairment in mental-health-related quality of life (youth: M = 30.1, SD = 10.4; adults: M = 34.2, SD = 14.0). Conclusions: Youth seeking treatment for opioid use present with more severe and complex substance use and mental health problems than adults. These findings suggest that to improve treatment outcomes, youth need easily accessible, developmentally appropriate treatment programs tailored to their unique needs, with a focus on integrated concurrent disorders treatment and harm reduction. Objectifs: La consommation d’opioïdes a atteint des proportions critiques au Canada. Les jeunes constituent un groupe particulièrement vulnérable, mais on sait peu sur leurs problèmes et leurs besoins en matière de services. Cette étude a examiné la consommation de substances psychoactives, la santé mentale et les problèmes de comportement chez les jeunes à la recherche d’un traitement pour la consommation problématique d’opioïdes. Elle a aussi comparé des échantillons de jeunes et d’adultes afin de comprendre les besoins spécifiques des jeunes en matière de traitement. Méthodes: Les participants (N = 120) comprenaient 44 jeunes (17-25 ans) et 76 adultes (26-57 ans) cherchant un traitement pour une utilisation problématique d’opioïdes dans un important établissement canadien de soins en santé mentale. Les participants ont complété des mesures de socio-démographie, de toxicomanie et de santé mentale et comportementale. Résultats: Comparativement aux adultes, les jeunes ont déclaré une plus grande consommation de substances nécessitant une intervention intensive (p = 0,002), des taux plus élevés de consommation de substances par injection (p = 0,032) et une augmentation de l’utilisation de fentanyl (p = 0,008). Plus de jeunes étaient engagés dans une consommation accrue de substances toxiques (p = 0,029) et une consommation d’alcool nocive / dangereuse (p = 0,003). Un nombre plus important de jeunes que d’adultes étaient aux prises avec des symptômes de dépression (p = 0,005), de troubles d’extériorisation (p = 0,005) et de problèmes de criminalité / violence (p = 0,005). Les jeunes et les adultes ont présenté des troubles de la qualité de vie liés à la santé mentale (jeunes: M = 30,1%, SD = 10,4; adultes: M = 34,2%, SD = 14,0). Conclusions: Les jeunes à la recherche d’un traitement pour consommation d’opioïdes présentent des problèmes de toxicomanie et de santé mentale plus graves et plus complexes que les adultes. Ces résultats suggèrent que, pour améliorer les résultats du traitement, les jeunes ont besoin de programmes de traitement faciles d’accès, adaptés à leur développement ainsi qu’à leurs besoins spécifiques, axés sur un traitement intégré des troubles concomitants et la réduction des effets nuisibles.
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Other psychological and pharmacological interventions for SUDs should be delivered concurrently.
“other psychological and pharmacological interventions for SUDs should be delivered concurrently (67).”
From Initial insights from a quality improvement initiative to develop an evidence-informed young adult substance use program (2022) · cites this paper as [67]
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- Authors
- Corace, K., Willows, M., Schubert, N., Overington, L., & Howell, G.
- Affiliations
- University of Ottawa (CA)
- Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre (CA)
- Venue
- Canadian Journal of Addiction
- Published
- 2018-12
- Volume
- 9
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 15-24
- ISSN
- 2368-4720 (ISSN-L)
- 2368-4739
- OpenAlex
- W2942915456
- Cited by
- 9
- References
- 31
- Citations by year
- 2025: 1 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 1
- FWCI
- 0.96
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- The Canadian Journal of Addiction (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Opioid Use Disorder Treatment
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › HIV, Drug Use, Sexual Risk
- Keywords
- problematic opioid use, youth, adolescents, substance use severity, intravenous drug use, fentanyl, polydrug use, alcohol consumption, depression, externalizing disorders, crime and violence, mental health-related quality of life, concurrent disorders, harm reduction, treatment needs, integrated treatment programs
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