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Aim  To examine the efficacy of two adolescent drug abuse treatments: individual cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and multidimensional family therapy (MDFT).

Design  A 2 (treatment condition) x 4 (time) repeated‐measures intent‐to‐treat randomized design. Data were gathered at baseline, termination, 6 and 12 months post‐termination. Analyses used latent growth curve modeling.

Setting  Community‐based drug abuse clinic in the northeastern United States.

Participants  A total of 224 youth, primarily male (81%), African American (72%), from low‐income single‐parent homes (58%) with an average age of 15 years were recruited into the study. All youth were drug users, with 75% meeting DSM‐IV criteria for cannabis dependence and 13% meeting criteria for abuse.

Measurements  Five outcomes were measured: (i) substance use problem severity; (ii) 30‐day frequency of cannabis use; (iii) 30‐day …