Targeting recovery capital for adolescents through treatment for opioid use disorder: A pilot expansion of the Youth Opioid Recovery Support intervention
- 1Maryland Treatment Centers, Baltimore, MD, United States
- 2Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
Abstract
Background: Youth Opioid Recovery Support (YORS) is a multi-component behavioral treatment approach for youth with opioid use disorder (OUD) with known efficacy on adherence to injectable medications for OUD (MOUD) in young adults. YORS has not been tested in adolescents or youth on sublingual buprenorphine, the most common medication choice among youth. Indicators of recovery capital (RC) are also underexplored outcomes, as previous research has focused on MOUD adherence and opioid use metrics. Methods: Adolescents (N=11) aged 13-17 seeking treatment for OUD were recruited from inpatient or outpatient addiction treatment, and designated family members were recruited as treatment significant others (N=10) for a 16-week uncontrolled feasibility pilot trial that adapted YORS for adolescents. The primary outcome was self-reported days of MOUD adherence, and secondary outcomes included opioid abstinence, days of opioid use, feasibility and acceptability of the intervention, and change in RC indicators. Seven adolescents and five TSOs were retained to complete measures for acceptability and recovery capital variables. Results: Participants reported MOUD adherence for 70.3% of days in the intervention and opioid use for 4.8% of days with available data. All YORS components were implemented successfully, with variable uptake, and participants averaged high ratings of satisfaction. Pre/post-intervention preliminary signals of RC were examined and showed positive change over time in the subset of retained participants. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that YORS is an appropriate treatment approach for adolescents with OUD and their families, with promising preliminary results that should be further explored in randomized studies with larger samples.
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BibTeX
@article{taylor2026targeting,
title = {{Targeting recovery capital for adolescents through treatment for opioid use disorder: A pilot expansion of the Youth Opioid Recovery Support intervention}},
author = {Lexi Taylor and Kevin Wenzel and Kamala Mallik-Kane and Christopher Pfeltz and Elise Massie and Katherine Davis and Luciana Lavorato and Marc Fishman},
journal = {Frontiers in adolescent medicine},
year = {2026},
month = jun,
doi = {10.3389/fradm.2026.1720332},
url = {https://doi.org/10.3389/fradm.2026.1720332},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Targeting recovery capital for adolescents through treatment for opioid use disorder: A pilot expansion of the Youth Opioid Recovery Support intervention
AU - Lexi Taylor
AU - Kevin Wenzel
AU - Kamala Mallik-Kane
AU - Christopher Pfeltz
AU - Elise Massie
AU - Katherine Davis
AU - Luciana Lavorato
AU - Marc Fishman
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/06/01
JO - Frontiers in adolescent medicine
DO - 10.3389/fradm.2026.1720332
UR - https://doi.org/10.3389/fradm.2026.1720332
AB - Background: Youth Opioid Recovery Support (YORS) is a multi-component behavioral treatment approach for youth with opioid use disorder (OUD) with known efficacy on adherence to injectable medications for OUD (MOUD) in young adults. YORS has not been tested in adolescents or youth on sublingual buprenorphine, the most common medication choice among youth. Indicators of recovery capital (RC) are also underexplored outcomes, as previous research has focused on MOUD adherence and opioid use metrics. Methods: Adolescents (N=11) aged 13-17 seeking treatment for OUD were recruited from inpatient or outpatient addiction treatment, and designated family members were recruited as treatment significant others (N=10) for a 16-week uncontrolled feasibility pilot trial that adapted YORS for adolescents. The primary outcome was self-reported days of MOUD adherence, and secondary outcomes included opioid abstinence, days of opioid use, feasibility and acceptability of the intervention, and change in RC indicators. Seven adolescents and five TSOs were retained to complete measures for acceptability and recovery capital variables. Results: Participants reported MOUD adherence for 70.3% of days in the intervention and opioid use for 4.8% of days with available data. All YORS components were implemented successfully, with variable uptake, and participants averaged high ratings of satisfaction. Pre/post-intervention preliminary signals of RC were examined and showed positive change over time in the subset of retained participants. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that YORS is an appropriate treatment approach for adolescents with OUD and their families, with promising preliminary results that should be further explored in randomized studies with larger samples.
SN - 2813-8589
ER -