Screening and brief intervention for alcohol and other abuse.

Screening and brief intervention for alcohol and other abuse. Adolesc Med State Art Rev. 2014 Apr;25(1):126-56 Authors: Harris SK, Louis-Jacques J, Knight JR Abstract Substance use is the most common health risk behavior among adolescents and is one of the greatest threats to their current and future health. Universal screening of adolescents in general medical settings can be instrumental in identifying substance use early, before further problems develop and when BIs are more likely to be effective. Screening in and of itself may have some therapeutic effect. Brief screening tools feasible for use by busy medical offices to quickly and reliably assess adolescent risk for a substance use disorder now are available. A recent study found that a physician-conducted CRAFFT screen interview required an average of 74 seconds to complete, whereas a computer self-administered version took an average of 49 seconds. The CRAFFT and AUDIT tools currently have the most evidence for validity among adolescents, whereas the validity of other widely used tools such as DAST-10, NIDA-modified ASSIST (Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test), and ultra-brief screens (AUDIT-C, single-item screens) has yet to be established for adolescents. Studies are needed to identify effective strategies to promote universal adolescent screening and the use of valid screening tools in general medical settings. One statewide (Massachusetts) study fou...
Source: Adolescent Medicine: State of the Art Reviews - Category: Pediatrics Tags: Adolesc Med State Art Rev Source Type: research