Factors such as low self-esteem, low family pride, deviant peer associations, family history of drug or alcohol abuse, and drug dealing increase the chances of substance abuse in African Americans (Rodney et al., 1996; Harvey and Coleman, 1997; Centers and Weist, 1998). A study by Slade et al. using propensity score matching techniques explored the association of onset of SUDs with the risk of criminal incarceration among a cohort of young men (ages 18–24). The young men were predominantly from lower income, urban, African American households. Slade reported that onset of SUD by age 16 is associated with a higher rate of criminal incarceration for substance-related offenses. The study also noted higher incarceration costs in early adulthood, with a higher rate of criminal arrests and prosecutions. Young men with SUDs beginning at age 16 have an approximately fourfold greater probability (0.35 vs. 0.09) of incarceration for substance-related offenses by early adulthood (Slade et al., 2008). Multidimensional family therapy (MDFT), functional family therapy, and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) have been shown to be beneficial in treating substance abuse adolescents (Waldron and Turner, 2008).
