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Prescription opioid use has grown rapidly, but few studies examined whether users have similar treatment responses as heroin users. Participants were 1,648 opioid users in Florida Access to Recovery (2004-2007). Participants engaged in methadone or buprenorphine maintenance had better retention than those in nonmaintenance treatment. Heroin only users (HO) had better engagement in nonmaintenance treatments and had worse retention than prescription opioid only users (PO). In methadone maintenance, PO were more likely to report opioid abstinence during treatment than heroin and prescription opioid users (H&P). Future research should focus on understanding and improving the treatment experience of opioid use subgroups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on several factors including, psychiatric, family, and ethnicity, that can impact treatment utilization among Hispanic substance abusing adolescents. It is widely accepted that a small minority of youth requiring treatment for a diagnosable disorder actually ever receive treatment and this is particularly true among substance abusing youth. For this purpose, a study of treatment utilization has been carried out in which one hundred and ten Hispanic substance abusing adolescents and their parents participated. Analysis showed that adolescents with lower numbers of externalizing disorders and parents with better parenting strategies, predicted overall treatment utilization, i.e., residential and outpatient. Better parenting practices and higher parental years in the U.S. predicted more utilization of outpatient services and lower parenting stress predicted more utilization of residential services. Without specialized engagement strategies, adolescents and families most in need may be the least likely to engage in recommended treatment.