Short Screening Tool Used For Evaluate Alcohol And Drug Use Among Adolescents

There is no doubt that there is a prevalence of substance abuse throughout several age groups. To a certain extent, a society is faced with the reality of controlling substance abuse. Or allow it run rampant throughout the community. Often times, we hear and read about the level of substance abuse among teen, young adults and mid-aged

This paper highlights 3 substance use screening and assessment measures that are commonly utilized in diagnostic assessment. The T-ACE, DALI and SBIRT tools are used across several domains, and in multiple healthcare settings. The purpose of this paper is to describe these assessment tools, and how they impact human services providers working in addictions treatment.

According to current statistics released by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, “In the United States in 2011, there were an estimated 25.1 million adolescents aged 12 to 17. In the past year, more than one quarter of adolescents drank alcohol, approximately one fifth used an illicit drug, and almost one eighth smoked cigarettes” ("A Day in the Life of American Adolescents," 2013, para. 1). Substance abuse is major problem amongst adolescents. Some are experimenting, but some adolescents may become dependent on a particular substance. If one becomes dependent on a substance as an adolescent it could be detrimental to their future health and success as an adult. Spear (2003) stated in an article titled Alcohol’s

Although there are several different assessments one could use, the Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory, (SASSI-3) would be the first choice. It is a “brief self-report, easily administered psychological screening measure that is available in separate versions for adults and adolescents. The Adult SASSI-3 helps recognize individuals who have a high probability of having a substance dependence disorder with an overall empirically tested accuracy of 93%.” Dr. Glenn A. Miller developed the SASSI-3 and is comprised of 67 true-false items with additional 26 item self-report section on substance use for identifying people with a high probability of having a substance dependence disorder. The subtle items of the SASSI-3 appear to have no correlation with the rest of the test. The subtle items may identify some clients who have alcohol or other drug issues the client may not admit to. A counselor having an awareness of their client’s history of alcohol use aids the counselor in identifying clients who are at risk and what treatment strategies may be most effective. The SASSI-3 is quick and easy for the counselor to score; only taking 15 minutes to administer and score. This assessment is helpful in both inpatient and outpatient sites. Although some studies have shown that alcoholism is hereditary, the genes have yet to be identified. Alcoholism is not only complex but involves different pathways that may lead to the development of alcohol dependence. Some factors may

Persistent substance abuse among youth is often accompanied by an array of problems, including academic difficulties, health-related consequences, poor peer relationships, mental health issues, and involvement with the juvenile justice system. There are also significant consequences for family members, the community, and society in

According to (Hayes et al. 2004, p32), strong values developed in adolescents have indicated lower alcohol abuse and dependence at age 21. Without pre-existing values in IY to avoid alcohol assumption, the enforced restrictions will not be as effective.

The standardized Screening, Brief Intervention & Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) instrument form is a comprehensive, integrated tool that can enable health professionals in any setting to quickly assess persons with substance use disorders (SUDs) or at risk of developing these disorders, to deliver early intervention to at-risk substance users, and assist those in need of a brief intervention or more intensive treatment receive appropriate treatment services (SAMHSA, 2015). The SBIRT form consists of few sections. It incorporates a 10-item Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) questionnaire made of two sections: the alcohol pre-screen which is the first level screen that assesses patients or clients for alcohol use and consists of questions one to three, and the full screen which consists of questions four to 10 and identifies signs of dependence with questions four to six and related problems with questions seven to 10.

and delinquent behaviour (Jones and Donovan 2001). Among young people aged 16 to 24 years, alcohol related harm is one of the leading causes of disease and

Adolescent substance abuse is a phenomenon in our country that has been steadily inclining ever since the 2000’s. The effects of this incline are very straight forward and call for action. The facts are that alcohol and drugs are the leading causes of crime among youth and that alcohol and drugs are the leading factors in teenage suicide. (National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, Inc., 2014) Because adolescence is such a crucial developmental age the effects of alcohol and drug use are catastrophic. To fully understand this phenomenon we must firs operationalize all of the factors we are trying to study. The DSM V classifies substance abuse as,

The tool that can be used to assess adolescent of risky behavior is the CRAFFT tool. This tool is designed to briefly assess alcohol and drug use among adolescent patients (McCabe, West, Teter, et al., 2012). This screening tool is useful in quickly identify adolescents who are in need for further evaluation and referral to substance abuse treatment centers.

Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) is commonly used to identify, reduce, and prevent abuse and dependence on alcohol and banned drugs ("Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) Health Professions Student Training," 2000). This assessment can be broken down simply by: a) conducting a screening where the clinician assesses a patient for risky substance use behaviors using standardized screening tools b) having a brief intervention where the clinician holds a short conversation, then provides feedback and offering advice c) lastly, the clinician can provide a referral to brief therapy or additional treatment for patients in need of the services ("Resource,"2000). Thus, making this a very useful

This risk assessment tool is used, primarily, to determine the risk factors that individuals are exposed to when they abuse drugs and alcohol and are at a greater risk for acquiring HIV/AIDS. The questionnaire in designed to help measure the degree to which people may be exposed to the virus, based on measurable patterns of behavior. The questions are extremely personal and require a great capacity for honesty if the assessment tool is to work properly to determine risk factors. This method of measuring the lifestyle risks of a person who engages in frequent alcohol and drug use can be used to determine the level of necessary counseling that a person may need. This can lead to better choices for possible interventions to produce results to lower the risk factors for becoming infected with the HIV virus.

The first 10 true or false questions (1-10) were positive statements. While the last 10 true or false questions (11-20) were negative questions. If the student answered true to positive items, they were given a coded score of +1, while a score of zero was given for answering false to a positive question. The reverse was also true; if the respondent answer false to a negative question, a score of +1 was given – and if true to a negative item, zero was given instead. The score ranged from zero to as high as forty. Low scores ranged from 0-19; while, high scores ranged from 20-40. The higher the score, the more positive was the students’ attitudes towards school; while, a lower score implied that they were less enthusiastic about school. The final instrument, Rutgers Alcohol Problem Index (RAPI) (see Appendix C1), originally a 23-item self-administered questionnaire and later modified to an 18-item was developed by (White & Labouvie, 1989), for measuring adolescent drinking problem(s). Mukama (2010) study used a shorter version of 10 questions that measured the amount of alcohol consumption by adolescents within one year preceding the study. These responses were coded into four categories, ranging from 1 to 4 as follows: Never had a drink = 1;

In 2015, the National Institute on Drug Abuse published a report summarizing the results of the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) for the year 2013, which is an annual survey considered to be the primary source of information when obtaining data regarding the use, abuse, and dependence of Americans aged 12 years old and older on various substances. The report is a press release summarizing the results from survey respondents, wherein these respondents have reported whether they have used specific substances within a given period of time.

Teenagers face many difficult decisions in their lives and have many people in their lives that influence them. One of the major groups that influence teens is their peer group. “Since teenagers are not yet comfortable with themselves, they have a strong need to be accepted by their peers. And to be accepted, they feel they have to be just like their peers” (Ruth Maxwell, p. 24). From Maxwell we learn that teenagers will use alcohol to be accepted by a group. As age progresses the number of alcohol users progress 73 percent of kids that are from the ages of 16-18 are drinkers. In addition, around 90 percent of high school seniors have experienced alcohol at least once in their life.