title: Reliability of paper-pencil assessment of drug use severity.
abstract: This research examines whether self-reported information about drug use severity can be obtained as reliably using a paper/pencil format as the traditional interviewer format. A sample of 67 patients seeking treatment for substance use disorders was recruited from a Veterans Administration Medical Center. Subjects self-reported information related to drug use severity using both paper/pencil and interview formats. The results of comparisons of the two approaches indicate that method of test administration does not affect the test-retest reliability for most questions tested. Test-retest reliability estimates for these relatively brief indicators of drug use severity generally ranged from good to excellent. Although assessing drug use severity using a paper/pencil format is certainly not appropriate for all individuals with substance use disorders, for many individuals and situations it may prove to be a cost-effective alternative to the interview format. Further research is required to determine if parallel paper/pencil versions of widely used interviews can be developed.
authors.affiliation: MEDSTAT Group Washington, DC 20008, USA.
authors.forename: K A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Heithoff
authors.forename: E J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Wiseman
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012647:Self-Assessment; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires