Diagnosing Adolescent Substance Use and Co-Occurring Disorders Using the Global Appraisal of Individual Needs Quick Version-4.

Objective: Early identification of substance use during adolescence is imperative to reduce the risk of morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study was to determine the utility of the Global Appraisal of Individual Needs-Quick Version 4 (GAIN-Q4) at diagnosing substance use disorders (SUDs) in adolescents.

Methods: The GAIN-Q4 was developed from the GAIN-Quick Version 3 by adding items from the original measure (GAIN-I) to diagnose SUDs and provide level of care recommendations.

Development and Evaluation of the Global Appraisal of Individual Needs Quick Version 4 (GAIN-Q4) for ASAM Dimension Ratings and Placement Recommendations for Adolescents and Adults.

Objectives: This article describes the development and evaluation of the Global Appraisal of Individual Needs Quick Version 4 (GAIN-Q4) for the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) 4th edition patient placement dimension ratings and level of care placement recommendations. The research questions are as follows: (1) Can the GAIN-Q4 replicate recommendations from the prior longer instrument within adolescents and adults? (2) What are the substantive differences in the results by age?

Methods: The 35- to 45-minute GAIN-Q4 was developed through modification of the GAIN-Q3 and evaluated in terms of its ability to predict ASAM dimensional ratings and level of care placement recommendations from the 60- to 120-minute GAIN-I instrument. Data were obtained from participants who are adolescents aged 12 to 17 years (n = 101,897) and adults 18 years and older (n = 204,711) interviewed between 2002 and 2018 across 530 US sites.

Utility of the Global Appraisal of Individual Needs Recommendation and Referral Report for Substance Use Diagnosis, Treatment Planning, and Placement.

Objectives: This study aims to evaluate the utility of the Global Appraisal of Individual Needs Recommendation and Referral Report (GRRS) as guided by American Psychiatric Association diagnosis criteria and American Society of Addiction Medicine guidelines for treatment planning and placement.

Methods: Global Appraisal of Individual Needs data were gathered between March 2018 and June 2020 from a total of 82 agencies and 245 clinicians as part of a program evaluation of agencies receiving public funding through the Mid-State Health Network under contract with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services and the Office of Recovery Oriented Systems of Care. Of the 1395 patients 18 years or older, 1027 GRRS reports were produced by clinical staff.

Screening for more with less: Validation of the Global Appraisal of Individual Needs Quick v3 (GAIN-Q3) screeners.

Multi-morbidity is the norm among adolescents and adults with substance use and other mental disorders and warrants a multi-pronged screening approach. However, the time constraints on assessment inherent in clinical practice often temper the desire for a full understanding of multi-morbidity problems. The 15- to 25-minute Global Appraisal of Individual Needs Quick version 3 (GAIN-Q3) includes screeners for 9 common clinical problems that are short (4 to 10 items) and provide dimensional measures of problem severity in each area that are also categorized to guide clinical decision making.

Economic Evaluation of the Juvenile Drug Court/Reclaiming Futures (JDC/RF) Model.

Juvenile drug court (JDC) programs are an increasingly popular option for rehabilitating juvenile offenders with substance problems, but research has found inconsistent evidence regarding their effectiveness and economic impact. While assessing client outcomes such as reduced substance use and delinquency is necessary to gauge program effectiveness, a more comprehensive understanding of program success and sustainability can be attained by examining program costs and economic benefits. As part of the National Cross-Site Evaluation of JDC and Reclaiming Futures (RF), an economic analysis of five JDC/RF programs was conducted from a multisystem and multiagency perspective.

The need and opportunity to expand substance use disorder treatment in school-based settings.

In this paper, we explore the unmet need for substance use disorder (SUD) treatment among youth, its consequences, and the opportunity to address this gap due to the expansion of behavioral health services to school-based settings under the Parity and Affordable Care Acts. We discuss the importance of using evidence-based approaches to assessment and treatment to ensure effectiveness and cost-effectiveness and show how the severity of SUD is related to a wide range of school, substance, mental, health, and health care utilization problems. Next, we introduce the other three articles in the special issue that further demonstrate the feasibility and impact of using these evidence-based practices in school-based settings, the challenges of identifying and interviewing with youth, and the need for a full continuum of interventions.