Reasons for and Attitudes Toward Follow-Up Research Participation Among Adolescents Enrolled in an Outpatient Substance Abuse Treatment Program

ABSTRACT

Maintaining study cohorts over time is crucial to the success of treatment outcome research studies. This paper examines reasons why adolescents with substance use problems continued to participate in follow-up interviews. The sample consisted of 145 adolescents between the ages of 12 and 18, who completed an outcome study following out-patient treatment for substance use. Adolescents' top reason for continued participation was financial compensation; however, a high percentage of adolescents responded favorably to several other attitudinal questions concerning their follow-up participation, suggesting that the adolescents had a primarily positive view of their research experience and that reasons for research participation are multidimensional.

KEYWORDS:

• Attitudes
• adolescents
• substance abuse
• treatment
• follow-up