Several drug assessment and screening tools are designed specifically for adolescents.
Mental health professionals use assessment and screening tools to identify potential alcohol and other drug abuse and dependency issues before making treatment recommendations for their clients. These assessments vary in purpose, number of questions, and depth of information obtained. As of 2010, more than 20 distinct drug assessment and screening tools are designed specifically for adolescents. Doctors, therapists and social workers employ one or more of these tools before proceeding to a detailed interview with a teenager suspected of a drug problem.
Drug and Alcohol Assessments
A mental health professional employs assessment tools that screen adolescents for both drug and alcohol-related problems if he believes the client may be struggling with multiple addictions. These assessments provide a series of 20 to 100 questions and offer information about the client's history of substance abuse, current level of drug use and awareness of associated risks. Several of these assessments are available. The Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory for Adolescents is one of the most common. Clients can take this assessment on paper or in computer-assisted format. Professionals use the SASSI-A and similar tools to make recommendations for treatment.
Alcohol Assessments
If a clinician suspects alcohol is the only drug the adolescent is using, she may utilize one of four screening tools designed for clients younger than 20. The Adolescent Drinking Index, Rutgers Alcohol Problem Index, Adolescent Alcohol Involvement Scale and Adolescent Obsessive-Compulsive Drinking Scale aid mental health professionals in understanding physical and psychological aspects of adolescent alcoholism. These tools consist of 13 to 24 questions which focus on the amount of alcohol the client drinks, frequency of drinking episodes, behavior resulting from drinking, thoughts which lead to alcohol use and other factors.
Illegal and Prescription Drug Assessments
Professionals may use specialized assessments to screen adolescent clients suspected of abusing illegal or prescription drugs but not alcohol. These assessment tools are usually surveys that the client can complete independently, and most ask 30 questions or fewer. Clients respond to inquiries about their past and present drug use, attitudes about drugs, types of drugs used and behavioral and legal problems. The Drug Abuse Screening Test for Adolescents is one of the most common drug-only assessments used in outpatient and inpatient settings, and can be taken online or on paper. Because many adolescent drug users also use alcohol, clinicians use drug-only screening tools less often than questionnaires which include an alcohol assessment.
Drug and Mental Health Assessments
Drug and alcohol abuse disorders often occur as comorbid conditions with other mental health problems such as mood disorders. For this reason, many clinicians utilize assessment tools that screen adolescents for multiple mental health issues. These assessments include a wider variety of questions than those addressing drugs and alcohol only. The Problem Oriented Screening Instrument for Teenagers covers socialization, interpersonal relationships and functionality at school and work in addition to mental health-related questions. Clinicians may not be able to diagnose a substance abuse or other mental health disorder from one of these assessments without a more detailed interview, but the broad spectrum of questions can successfully identify many potential problems using a single questionnaire.
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