Versorgungsstrukturen für drogenabhängige Kinder und Jugendliche

Children and adolescents abusing drugs present a special challenge for our health system. Special risks for the development of drug dependence are psychic diseases of parents, familial addiction or multiply burdened families. The treatment of drug-addicted children and adolescents in child and youth psychiatry requires a highly individualised therapy programme as well as a paedagogic and therapeutic setting corresponding to age. 745 patients were examined in a retrospective study between 1998 and 2001. The results are shown below. 68% of the patients had a relevant psychiatric second diagnosis, 39 Patients of the examined drug addicted children and adolescents were diagnosed with an additional psychotic disturbance. A study of children and youth psychiatry clinics in the fall of 2001 showed that sufficient clinical care for drug-addicted children and adolescents is still lacking.