Research among adolescents with substance use problems presents unique challenges to investigators. Issues with recruitment, confidentiality, and follow-up have been cited as common limitations to research in this area. One likely contributor to decreased treatment persistence and follow-up is the limited ability to sustain attention that many adolescents, especially those with substance problems, may manifest. (Taper, 2002) Thus, assessing attention before beginning substance abuse treatment has the potential not only to inform the science of adolescent addiction medicine, but also to guide the development of therapies to specifically address attention deficits among adolescent substance users. Adolescent outpatients being treated for substance problems have not been systematically studied for clinical or subclinical attention levels.