Recovery High Schools: Effect of Schools Supporting Recovery From Substance Abuse

• In Event: 33.080 - Poster Session 6
  In Poster Session: 33.080-7 - Innovative Counseling Approaches and Techniques

Abstract

Recovery high schools (RHSs) offer academic services within a structured environment promoting recovery. Features include maintenance of a drug-free learning environment with post-treatment continuing care. This paper will present preliminary data from the first three years of a five-year study funded by NIH. The study is evaluating the effectiveness of RHSs for improving the behavioral and academic outcomes of adolescents with substance use disorders after receiving treatment. It represents the first rigorous services research on the effectiveness of RHSs, and it considers whether RHSs are more effective than regular high schools--combined with usual continuing care support services--in preventing relapse, facilitating academic achievement, and reducing dropout for students recovering from substance use disorders.

Authors

• Andrew J. Finch, Vanderbilt University

• Emily Tanner-Smith, Vanderbilt University