Psychometric properties of the Drug Use Disorders Identification Test (DUDIT) with substance abusers in outpatient and residential treatment.

The psychometric properties of the Drug Use Disorders Identification Test (DUDIT), an 11-item self-report questionnaire developed to screen individuals for drug problems, are evaluated. The measure, developed in Sweden and evaluated there with individuals with severe drug problems, has not been evaluated with less severe substance abusers or with clinical populations in the United States. Participants included 35 drug abusers in an outpatient substance abuse treatment program, 79 drug abusers in a residential substance abuse treatment program, and 39 alcohol abusers from both treatment settings who did not report a drug abuse problem.

A Quick Drinking Screen for identifying women at risk for an alcohol-exposed pregnancy.

Two previous studies comparing the Quick Drinking Screen (QDS) with the Timeline Followback (TLFB) found that these two instruments yielded similar reports of alcohol use for clinical and nonclinical populations of problem drinkers. The current study evaluated the correspondence between these two drinking measures with women at risk of an Alcohol-Exposed Pregnancy (AEP). Participants were 355 women who voluntarily participated in a research study during 2005 through 2007 designed to prevent AEPs.

Comparison of the quick drinking screen and the alcohol timeline followback with outpatient alcohol abusers.

Objective: A recent study comparing the Quick Drinking Screen (QDS) with the Timeline Followback (TLFB) found that in a nonclinical population of problem drinkers both measures produced reliable summary measures of drinking. The current study was designed to replicate these findings with a clinical population of alcohol abusers. The data were collected over three years (2004-2006).

Comparing the BDI-II and the PHQ-9 with outpatient substance abusers.

Because of the high co-occurrence of Axis-I mood disorders with primary substance use disorders (SUD), it is important to routinely assess substance abusers for evidence of a mood disorder. The primary goal of the present study was to examine the psychometric characteristics of two widely used self-report measures of depression (Beck Depression Inventory-II; Patient Health Questionnaire PRIME MD) with substance abusers (N=108) in an outpatient treatment setting. Using Cronbach's alpha, the reliabilities of the BDI-II and the PHQ-9 were 0.

Differences among substance abusers in Spain who recovered with treatment or on their own.

This exploratory study compared the differences among substance abusers in Spain who recovered with treatment or on their own. Advertisements were used to recruit 58 individuals (29 self-changers and 29 treatment-changers) who had had problems with alcohol or drugs, and who had been recovered for at least one year. The groups differed significantly in severity of dependence, psychiatric treatment prior to recovery, and coping strategies to maintain recovery.