Most adolescents improve during residential treatment. Though reported outcomes vary widely,
ranging from about 25 % to 80%, reviews suggest that 60%-80% of adolescents improve during
residential treatment (Curry, 1991; Curtis et al., 2001; Epstein, 2004; Hair, 2005; Wells, 1991).
The following factors have been shown to predict outcome: age, intelligence, degree of pathology,
stability of the discharge placement, aftercare participation, and the absence of externalizing
behaviors (Connor, Miller, Cunninghan, & Melloni, 2002; Epstein, 2004; Gorske, Srebalus,
Walls, 2003; Wells, 1991) Specifically, research suggests that adolescent females with high IQ,
less severe dysfunction, acute and late onset, better academic ability, absence of learning
disorders, low levels of behavioral problems, and high levels of internalizing problems tend to
have positive outcomes. Some researchers have concluded that residential treatment is best for
higher functioning, less vulnerable youth (Connor et al., 2002). One recent study that sampled
from 17 public residential treatment programs, found that age and race predicted outcomes
(Lyons, McCulloch, & Romansky, 2006), with mid-aged adolescents and African American
adolescents having relatively worse outcomes. It bears repeating that the degree to which the
findings within this corpus of research apply top r i va t e residential treatment programs is largely
unknown.
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