ABSTRACT
Adolescent substance use disorders (SUDs) continue to present a challenging public health problem worldwide. There is a clear clinical consensus that the population of adolescents with SUDs is heterogeneous in terms of various clinical characteristics, including severity of substance use and the presence of comorbid psychiatric disorders. Indeed, the majority of adolescents with SUDs manifest comorbid psychopathology or dual diagnosis (DD), that is, the presence of one or more comorbid psychiatric disorders in addition to SUDs. Both internalizing and/or externalizing types are often noted in populations of adolescents with SUDs (Bukstein, Glancy, & Kaminer, 1992; Diamond et al., 2006; Riggs, Baker, Mikulich, Young, & Crowley, 1995). Psychiatric disorders in childhood featured by disruptive behavior disorders, as well as mood or anxiety disorders, confer an increased risk for the development of SUDs in a majority of the cases in adolescence (Bukstein, Brent, & Kaminer, 1989; Christie et al., 1988; Loeber, 1988). The etiological mechanisms have not been systematically researched. However, a number of possible relationships exist between SUD and psychopathology. Psychopathology may precede SUD, may develop as a consequence of preexisting SUD, may influence the severity of SUD, may not be related, or may originate from a common vulnerability (Hovens, Cantwell, & Kiriakos, 1994).
