Limitations in the assessment of DSM-IV cannabis tolerance as an indicator of dependence in adolescents.
The usefulness of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual's (4th ed.; DSM-IV; American Psychiatric Association, 1994) tolerance criterion as an indicator of dependence has been debated. The authors of this study evaluated the performance of DSM's cannabis tolerance criterion, operationally defined as a percentage increase in quantity needed to get high, in distinguishing adolescents with and without cannabis dependence. Two samples of adolescent cannabis users (ages 12-19) provided data (ns = 417 and 380). Tolerance, defined as a percentage increase (median increase = 300% and 175%, respectively, in the samples), had only moderate overall sensitivity and specificity in distinguishing those with and without cannabis dependence. Results suggest limitations of the DSM-IV and change-based operational definition of tolerance in adolescents.
Chung
Tammy
T
Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, PA 15213, USA. chungta@msx.upmc.edu
Martin
Christopher S
CS
Winters
Ken C
KC
Cornelius
Jack R
JR
Langenbucher
James W
JW
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D004361:Drug Tolerance; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D002189:Marijuana Abuse / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008875:Middle Aged