Chemical Dependency Treatment and Black Adolescents

Abstract

The use and abuse of drugs within the urban black community has become a serious and pressing problem. The use of alcohol among black youth continues to increase while identification of abuse and intervention occur later in the black than in the white community. In an attempt to look at some of the dynamics of chemical dependency treatment for black adolescents, we talked with treatment staff and clients, as well as called upon our own experiences and as a result, we focus our analysis on the following concerns: 1) initial issues and problems as a youth enters treatment; 2) issues and problems which need attention during treatment and; 3) issues and problems which confront the client after primary treatment ends.