title: Determining a cut-off on the Severity of Dependence Scale (SDS) for alcohol dependence.
abstract: Optimal cut-off points on the Severity of Dependence Scale (SDS) indicative of clinically significant dependence have been determined for a range of substance types. This study aims to determine a cut-off point on SDS that discriminates between the presence and absence of a DSM-IV diagnosis of alcohol dependence. A structured interview was administered to 90 alcohol users in Sydney, Australia. Receiver Operating Characteristic curve analysis confirmed the utility of the SDS-alcohol for characterising and diagnosing persons with respect to their alcohol-dependent status to an accuracy of 85%. A SDS score of 3 or above was determined as optimal for characterising alcohol dependence. Evidence is also provided confirming that the SDS-alcohol is a valid, reliable uni-dimensional scale for measuring alcohol dependence. It has been demonstrated that the SDS-alcohol can be used to characterise an individual's alcohol-dependent status. A cut-off value for SDS-alcohol provides additional meaning and value to the scale for clients and clinicians and will enable researchers to characterise the prevalence of alcohol dependence in their target populations.
authors.affiliation: National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia. peter.lawrinson@flinders.edu.au
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lawrinson
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Copeland
authors.forename: Saul
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gerber
authors.forename: Stuart
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gilmour
mesh_terms: D000437:Alcoholism / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003710:Demography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011594:Psychometrics; D012372:ROC Curve; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires