• Anne M Fairlie, Thomas H Chun, Lynn Hernández, Holly Sindelar-Manning, Cheryl A Eaton, William Lewander, and Anthony Spirito.
• Department of Psychology, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI, USA.
• Pediatr Emerg Care. 2010 Jun 1; 26 (6): 417-23.

ObjectivesThe current study compared 3 groups of adolescents identified in an emergency department (ED) following an alcohol-related event: (1) alcohol-positive adolescents scoring at or above the clinical cutoff on a measure of problematic drinking, the Adolescent Drinking Inventory (ADI) (n = 45); (2) alcohol-positive adolescents scoring below the clinical cutoff on the ADI (n = 68), and (3) alcohol-negative adolescents (n = 64). We examined whether these 3 groups of adolescents differed on measures of substance use as well as psychosocial factors.MethodsParticipants were recruited as part of a larger clinical trial. Alcohol-positive adolescents were recruited from a level I regional trauma center for treatment related to an alcohol-related incident. Alcohol-negative adolescents were recruited from the ED and the community. The data reported here were from the baseline adolescent and parent assessments. Before completing assessments, adolescents were required to pass a brief mental status examination.ResultsAdolescents in the alcohol-positive, high-ADI group reported significantly more substance use, peer substance use, and peer tolerance of substance use than adolescents in the alcohol-positive, low-ADI group followed by adolescents in the alcohol-negative group. Adolescents in the alcohol-positive, high-ADI group reported significantly less parental supervision than adolescents in the other 2 groups.ConclusionsThese findings underscore that alcohol-positive adolescents being treated in an ED are a heterogeneous group with respect to substance use as well as parent and peer risk factors. Physicians need to consider relevant background factors when making individualized discharge recommendations.

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