ADS is a 25-item pencil and paper questionnaire, or computer self-administered or interview. ADS provides a quantitative measure of the severity of alcohol dependence symptoms. The 25 items cover alcohol withdrawal symptoms, impaired control over drinking, awareness of a compulsion to drink, increased tolerance to alcohol, and salience of drink-seeking behavior.
This 20-item instrument may be given in either a self-report or in a structured interview format; a “yes” or “no” response is requested from each of 20 questions. It is constructed similarly to the earlier Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (MAST), and the DAST items tend to parallel those of the MAST. The purpose of the DAST is 1) to provide a brief, simple, practical, but valid method for identifying individuals who are abusing psychoactive drugs; and 2) to yield a quantitative index score of the degree of problems related to drug use and misuse.
This 20-item instrument may be given in either a self-report or in a structured interview format; a “yes” or “no” response is requested from each of 20 questions. It is constructed similarly to the earlier Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (MAST), and the DAST items tend to parallel those of the MAST. The purpose of the DAST is 1) to provide a brief, simple, practical, but valid method for identifying individuals who are abusing psychoactive drugs; and 2) to yield a quantitative index score of the degree of problems related to drug use and misuse.
The AIDS-Risk Behavior Assessment (ARBA) is a structured interview designed specifically for use with adolescents to assess their self-reported sexual behavior, drug/alcohol use, and needle use associated with HIV-infection. It was derived from four well-established measures of sexual behavior and drug/alcohol use (Dowling et al., 1994; Institute of Behavioral Science, 1991) and assesses alcohol and drug use (e.g., lifetime use, method of use, frequency), needle use (e.g., sharing, tattooing, piercing), and sexual behavior (e.g., lifetime sexual intercourse).
A pool of 50 items was created by selecting the items of an adult autonomy questionnaire (Bekker, 1991). This questionnaire was selected because all 3 theoretical dimensions (functional, emotional and attitudinal autonomy) are represented in this item pool. However, the questionnaire is originally used for adults and many of the items are not relevant for adolescents. Subsequently, the wording of the items was adapted to make them suitable for adolescents (Noom, 1999).
An objective self-report instrument–the Clinical Anger Scale (CAS)–was designed to measure the psychological symptoms presumed to have relevance in the understanding and treatment of clinical anger. Twenty-one sets of statements were prepared for this purpose. In writing these groups of items, the format from one of Beck’s early instruments was used to design the Clinical Anger Scale (Beck et al., 1961; Beck, 1963, 1967).
The BSSS is an abbreviated and revised eight-item form of the Sensation Seeking Scale for Children (Russo et al., 1993), which includes 26 items. Participants indicate responses to all sensation seeking items using a five-point scale.
This scale has been used to assess beliefs regarding the prevention of AIDS among adolescents (Koopman et al., 1990). Five subscales have been identified through factor analysis (Koopman and Reid 1998): Perceived threat, self-control, self-efficacy, peer support for safe acts, and expectation to prevent pregnancy.
The manual contains instructions for administering the BPRS and rating the various symptoms, an interview for eliciting the symptoms of major mental disorders, and anchor points on 24 scales for rating the severity of symptoms. Twenty four distinct symptoms such as Delusions, Hallucinations, Thought Disorders, Blunted Affect, Emotional Withdrawal, Hostility, Depression, Anxiety, and Suicidality are in the BPRS.
The following instrument can be used a brief screener for HIV risk (Gerbert et al., 1998). The screener was intended for use in primary health care settings, and is self-administered. Developers: Barbara Gerbert, Amy Bronstone, Stephen McPhee, Steven Pantila, and Michael Allerton.