title: Substance Dependence Severity Scale (SDSS): reliability and validity of a clinician-administered interview for DSM-IV substance use disorders.
abstract: No existing diagnostic interview assesses severity of dependence based on DSM-IV criteria across a range of substances. The Substance Dependence Severity Scale (SDSS) was designed to serve this purpose, consisting of substance-specific scales of both severity and frequency of DSM-IV criteria. This study investigated the reliability and validity of the SDSS. The test-retest reliability of the SDSS in 175 (112 male and 63 female) treated substance users ranged from good to excellent for alcohol, cocaine, heroin and sedatives (interclass correlation coefficients (ICCs)=0.75-0.88 for severity, 0.67-0.85 for frequency). Results for cannabis were lower, ranging from fair to good (ICCs=0.50-0.62). Results for joint rating and internal consistency reliability were comparable to test-retest findings. In addition to indicators of concurrent validity, scale applications are presented and discussed.
authors.affiliation: Research Assessment Associates, Inc., 60 Haven Avenue, 4D, New York, NY 10032, USA. gmm23@columbia.edu
authors.forename: G M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Miele
authors.forename: K M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Carpenter
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Smith Cockerham
authors.forename: K D
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Trautman
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Blaine
authors.forename: D S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Hasin
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D019970:Cocaine-Related Disorders / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000534:rehabilitation; D005260:Female; D006556:Heroin Dependence / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000534:rehabilitation; D006801:Humans; D007406:Interview, Psychological; D008297:Male; D002189:Marijuana Abuse / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000534:rehabilitation; D008875:Middle Aged; D010343:Patient Admission; D011379:Prognosis; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000534:rehabilitation