Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Patterns Of Psychotropic Medication At Admission For Youth In Residential Care, Jonathan C. Huefner, Gail L. Smith, Jay L. Ringle, Amy L. Stevens, W. Alex Mason, Gilbert R. Parra

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

High levels of psychotropic medication use and polypharmacy are common for emotionally and behaviorally troubled youth entering residential care. Polypharmacy has often been characterized as an especially serious problem in this vulnerable population. Latent Class Analysis was used to identify medication subgroups for 636 youth in an intensive residential program. Additionally, auxiliary analyses (e.g., diagnoses, demographics, expressed problem behaviors) were used to identify the personal and behavioral attributes associated with individuals in each of the latent classes. Three distinct medication patterns emerged: low/no psychotropic medication, the combination of antidepressant and antipsychotic medications, and multiple psychotropic medications. The latent classes were …