Academic Psychiatry 16: 103-108,
June
1992
© 1992 Academic Psychiatry
Comparison of Child Psychiatry Residents' and Training Directors' Perceptions of Training for Alcohol and Substance Abuse Treatment
James A. Steg M.D.1,
Lee S. Mann Ph.D., J.D.2,
Richard H. Schwartz M.D.3,
Thomas N. Wise M.D.4, and
George W. Bailey M.D.4
1 Department of Psychiatry, Fairfax Hospital, Falls Church, VA
2 Department of Psychiatry, Fairfax Hospital; Department of Psychiatry, Georgetown University School of Medicine, Washington, DC
3 Department of Pediatrics, Fairfax Hospital
4 Department of Psychiatry, Fairfax Hospital; Department of Psychiatry, Georgetown University School of Medicine
Dr. Mann, Dept. of Psychiatry, Fairfax Hospital Falls Church, VA 22046
Residents and directors of accredited child and adolescent psychiatry programs (N =117) in the United States were surveyed (with a response rate of 89% and 76.9%, respectively) to determine the extent and adequacy of training offered for the identification and management of substance abuse disorders. Of the responders, 24% of the residents indicated some exposure (
1 hour) to an adolescent drug abuse treatment facility during their training. In contrast, 46% of the directors reported that their residents had such exposure. Residents consistently reported training to be less adequate than did directors. Only half of the residents reported that they felt adequately prepared to identify and initially manage a substance-abusing adolescent, whereas a somewhat higher percentage of the directors (59%) felt that their residents were adequately prepared for this function.
