A meta-analysis of treatments for adolescent substance abuse
found that treatment was effective in reducing alcohol use and
that individual interventions performed better overall than
family interventions (Tripodi et al., 2010). The number of
studies included was relatively small (n = 16 and 26 outcomes),
so the results should be interpreted with caution.
However both individual and family-based behavioural treatments
were effective in promoting long-term reduction in alcohol
consumption (i.e. at 12-month follow-up).