Perceived need for substance abuse treatment among White, Hispanic, and Black juvenile arrestees

The primary purpose of this study was to examine racial/ethnic differences with regard to perceived need for treatment among a sample of White, Hispanic, and Black drug-using male juvenile arrestees (N = 9618). Racial/ethnic differences among several predictors (frequent use of drugs, polysubstance use, self-reported dependency, past treatment utilization) were also examined. Our results indicate that while racial/ethnic differences with regard to perceived need for treatment do exist, those within all racial/ethnic groups who admit dependency and/or have had prior treatment experience are more likely to perceive that they need treatment than those who do not. However, significant differences exist between Whites and the other two racial/ethnic groups with regard to self-reported dependency and past treatment utilization. Implications for the study and recommendations for future researchers are presented.