Does race/ethnicity moderate the relationship between substance use disorder diagnosis and the receipt of substance use disorder services for males in the juvenile justice system?

Juvenile offenders suffer from substance use disorders at higher rates than adolescents in the general public. Substance use disorders also predict an increased risk for re-offending. Therefore, it is important that these juveniles, in particular, receive the appropriate substance use disorder treatment. The present study used logistic regression to test whether race/ethnicity would moderate the match between substance use disorder diagnosis and the receipt of a substance use disorder related service in a sample of male, serious juvenile offenders. Results showed that among those with a substance use disorder diagnosis, there were no race/ethnicity differences in the receipt of the appropriate service. However, among those without a substance use disorder diagnosis, non-Hispanic Caucasians were more likely to receive substance use service than were Hispanics or African-Americans. Post-hoc analyses revealed that when using a broader definition of substance use problems, significant differences by race/ethnicity in the prediction of service receipt were only observed at low levels of substance use problems. These findings shed light on how race/ethnicity may play a role in the recommendation of substance use disorder services in the juvenile justice system.