Standardised assessment of personality - a study of validity and reliability in substance abusers.
BACKGROUND
Brief screening instruments for co-morbid personality disorders could potentially have great value in substance abuse treatment settings.


METHODS
We assessed the psychometric properties of the 8-item Standardised Assessment of Personality - Abbreviated Scale (SAPAS) in a sample of 58 methadone maintenance patients.


RESULTS
Internal consistency was modest, but similar to the original value (alpha = 0.62), and test-retest correlation at four months follow-up was moderately encouraging for a short instrument such as this (n = 31, test retest intraclass correlation = 0.58), and change at the mean level was minimal, but marginally significant (from an average of 3.3 to 3.8, p = 0.06). Analyses of nurse ratings of patients' behaviour at the clinic showed that SAPAS was significantly correlated with nurse ratings of externalizing behaviour (r = 0.42, p = 0.001), and Global Assessment of Functioning (r = -0.36, p = 0.006), but unrelated to intoxication (r = 0.02, NS), or withdrawal (r = 0.20, NS).


CONCLUSIONS
There is evidence that the SAPAS is a modestly valid and relatively reliable brief screening measure of personality disorders in patients with ongoing substance abuse undergoing methadone maintenance. It can be used in situations where limited resources are available, and researchers or others wish to get an impression of the degree of personality pathology in a clinical population, as well as for screening purposes.
Hesse
Morten
M
Aarhus University, Centre for Alcohol and Drug Research, Copenhagen Division, Købmagergade 26E, 1150 Copenhagen C, Denmark. mortenhesse@crf.dk
Rasmussen
Joachim
J
Pedersen
Mads Kjaer
MK
D000328:Adult; D015897:Comorbidity; D003718:Denmark; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007406:Interview, Psychological; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009293:Opioid-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D010552:Personality Assessment; D010554:Personality Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D011594:Psychometrics; D012044:Regression Analysis; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology