The Adolescent - Teen Challenge—Enlightening Statistics

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2. Teen Challenge—Enlightening Statistics

The following statistics have been obtained through the kind cooperation of the Teen Challenge Program for drug and alcohol abuse, a service which was first initiated in 1958 in New York City. The statistics are in a "Services Research Report-An Evaluation of the Teen Challenge Treatment Program" as issued by the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare; Public Health Service; Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration; and the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

We thank Greg Brewer, Tucson Director of Teen Challenge for his kind cooperation.

TABLE 1

Characteristics of Entrants into Teen Challenge Program

Characteristic	% or x (N=186)

Age	24
Ethnicity:
% Hispanic	64.0
% Black	20.4
% White	15.6
Education:
% 9th grade	23.5
% 9-11 grades	60.9
% 12 or more grades	15.6
% Married	29.6
% Admitted under legal pressure	22.5
% Ever arrested	79.0
%Arrested for drugs	47.9
Religion:
% Catholic	43.6
% Protestant	29.5
% Jewish	1.6
% Muslim	2.7
% Other	0.5
% None	23.1
Heroin Use:
% Heroin use at admission	87
% Using heroin at least daily	83
Age of first heroin use	17
% Reporting hospitalization for overdose	31
Other drug use at admission:
% Tobacco	88
% Alcohol	39
% Marijuana	37
% Other drugs	44

TABLE 2

Characteristics of Entrants into Challenge Program at Age 12

Characteristic	% (N=186)

Type of residential community:
City of 250,000 or more	59.1
City of 50,000-200,000	10.2
City of less than 50,000	15.6
Suburb	10.2
Farm or country	4.3
Don't know	0.5

Living with:
Both father and mother	69.4
Mother	21.0
Father	3.X
Other person	5.4

In school	97.3
Attending religious services regularly	64.0

TABLE 3

Client Outcome - 1975	Induction Center Dropouts (N=70)		Training Center Dropouts (N=52)		Training Center Graduates (N=64)
Outcome Data	Pre-Teen Challenge %	Post-Teen Challenge %	Pre-Teen Challenge %	Post-Teen Challenge %	Pre-Teen Challenge %	Post-Teen Challenge %
Heroin Use *1	90.0	18.6	78.9	1.9	89.1	4.7
Alcohol Use	32.9	51.4	36.5	30.8	51.6	17.2
Tobacco Use	91.4	82.9	90.4	63.5	82.8	21.9
Marijuana Use	44.3	48.6	26.9	15.4	37.5	12.5
Obtaining money through illegal means	-	20.0	-	3.9	-	16
Employed/in school	-	57.1	-	61.5	-	75.0
Arrests	80.0	78.6	73.1	55.8	82.8	29.7
Any schooling post-teen challenge	-	28.6	-	21.2	-	40.6
Married/Living with	41.4	57.1	30.8	61.5	23.4	70.3
Health since Teen Challenge reported as good-excellent	-	58.6	-	75.0	-	92.2
Current nervous/emotional problems	-	18.6	-	13.5	-	12.5
Any treatment other than Teen Challenge	40.0	80.0	38.5	63.5	54.7	26.5
Reporting self as:
Very/Somewhat religious	58.6	88.6	30.8	75.0	26.6	87.5
Not religious	41.4	11.4	69.2	25.0	73.4	12.5
Attending religious services *2	62.9	37.1		48.0	32.8	67.2

*1 An additional 18.6% of Induction Center dropouts, 15.4% of Training Center dropouts and 7.8% of Training Center graduates were using methadone, but it is unclear whether or not this was illicitly obtained.
*2 For Pre-Teen Challenge recorded as "church member."

* Not all the statistics are given here. Those persons wishing the complete report may request same from a local Teen Challenge office or from the National Institute for Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, Maryland 20857.

The entrants into the Teen Challenge Program considered in the report were largely from the Brooklyn-New York City area (about 90%) and may not be characteristic of all areas. However, they are interesting in that they show that drug usage is found among all races, all education levels, among both married and single. Our personal research shows that drug usage is common also in persons from all economic levels, affluent, economically depressed, in city dwellers and among those who live in rural settings. It is a problem which will come to the attention of the Hygienic practitioner sooner or later in his practice and one that must be appropriately addressed by him/her.

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