Effects of Recovery High School Attendance on Students ’ Mental Health Symptoms

AbstractRecovery high schools are one form of continuing care support for adolescents with substance use or other co-occurring disorders. Using a controlled quasi-experimental design, we compared mental health symptom outcomes at 6  months for adolescents who attended recovery high schools vs. non-recovery high schools (e.g., traditional or alternative schools). The propensity score balanced sample included 194 adolescents (134 in recovery schools, 60 in non-recovery schools) enrolled in schools in MN, WI, or TX (average age  = 16; 86% White; 51% female). Baseline data indicated that this is a dually diagnosed population—94% of students met criteria for at least one mental health diagnosis and 90% had received mental health treatment distinct from treatment for substance use disorders. Results from multilevel logisti c regression models indicated that at the 6-month follow-up, adolescents attending both recovery and non-recovery high schools reported substantial improvements in mental health symptoms. However, there were no significant differences in mental health outcomes between the two groups. We conclude tha t although recovery high schools offer promise for reducing substance use and improving academic success, and while adolescents’ mental health symptoms improved between baseline and follow-up, recovery high schools may have minimal differential effects on adolescents’ mental health symptoms.
Source: International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction - Category: Addiction Source Type: research