Treatment goal-planning: outcome findings of a British prospective multi-centre study of adolescent inpatient units.

A set of 16 treatment goals, related to 4 areas of adolescent functioning, were defined and employed in the initial and discharge assessments of 276 patients, admitted to 4 inpatient units, examined during a multi-centre prospective study of adolescent psychiatric hospitalizations. At discharge, subjects showed a substantial improvement across all treatment goals; least improvement was observed amongst those goals most frequently targeted. The clinical investigators consider the treatment goal definitions used in this study a meaningful way of measuring psychiatric disturbances in adolescence as well as a useful measure of change in an inpatient population. Further development of the treatment goal definitions would produce a robust clinical and audit tool.