Press Release
Phoenix Academy Gets Results
A study published in the September 2004 issue of a leading scientific journal reflects Phoenix House's leadership in the treatment of adolescent substance abuse. Researchers at the RAND corporation found that adolescents treated at a Phoenix House Academy demonstrated substantial reductions in drug use and unlawful behavior and an improvement in psychological status - and that the Academy outperformed other juvenile programs in achieving these objectives.
The study, published in Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, tracked 175 youths ages 13 to 17 who received treatment at the Phoenix Academy of Los Angeles after being placed on probation by juvenile authorities. The treated group was compared with 274 adolescent probationers with similar profiles - including drug use, criminal activity and other factors - placed in other residential programs.
The adolescents in the study were followed for one year, with researchers collecting
periodic information about their drug use, psychological health and criminal
behavior. Improvement among the treated adolescents began immediately and continued
for at least twelve months.
"This study provides clear empirical evidence that the therapeutic community
model employed by Phoenix House can have a positive, lasting impact on teens
in the juvenile justice system," said Mitchell S. Rosenthal, M.D., president
of Phoenix House.
"The researchers at RAND have demonstrated not only that the Phoenix
Academy achieves its goals of reducing substance abuse and criminal behavior
among its participants, but also that it achieves them more effectively than
other residential placements for probationers."
Among the study’s key findings are:
• Adolescents who took part in the Phoenix Academy program consistently
reported less drug use both during and after the period when most were in the
residential portion of the treatment.
• Adolescents in the Phoenix Academy program received mental health benefits
from treatment, including reductions in symptoms of depression, anxiety and other
forms of psychological distress.
• Adolescents in the Phoenix Academy program showed declines in several
crime-related outcomes, including arrests.
• Adolescents in the Phoenix Academy program continued to show reductions
in the symptoms of psychological distress after completing treatment. According
to the researchers, "this may suggest that Phoenix Academy treatment fosters
coping strategies or develops other internal resources on which youths successfully
draw even after they return to the environments that originally contributed to
their psychological distress."
• The sole aspect of behavior in which the comparison group showed greater
benefits than the Phoenix House sample was in reduced use of tobacco.
The Phoenix Academy of Los Angeles is one of eleven Phoenix Academies operated
by Phoenix House nationwide. Other programs are located in: Santa Ana and San
Diego, CA; Augusta, ME; Springfield, MA; Dublin, NH; Long Island and Westchester,
NY; Pascoag, RI; Austin and Dallas, TX.
Phoenix House is the nation’s largest nonprofit provider of substance
abuse treatment and prevention services, operating more than 100 programs in
nine states. Since 1967, Phoenix House has treated more than 100,000 substance
abusers – currently caring for a population of more than 6,000 at residential
centers for adults, residential Phoenix Academies combining long-term treatment
and schooling for adolescents, outpatient, after school, and day programs.
Funding for the study was provided by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Services Administration, Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, as part of its
nationwide "Exemplary Adolescent Treatment Models" project. Additional funding
was provided by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Authors of the study are
RAND researchers Andrew R. Morral, Daniel F. McCaffrey and Greg Ridgeway.
Read the full article in Psychology of Addictive Behaviors.
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Media Contact:
Christopher Policano
(646) 505-2091
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