title: Validity and reliability of the COJAC screening tool for co-occurring disorders.
abstract: This study explored the reliability and validity of a nine-item screening tool (Co-Occurring Joint Action Council [COJAC] Screening Tool [CST]) for co-occurring disorders (COD). Using a convenience sample (n=1,951), an online survey was conducted in multiple settings and included demographic questions, the CST, the Global Appraisal of Individual Needs-Short Screener (GAIN-SS), and the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist-Civilian version. The CST substance abuse (SA) scale performed well with a Cronbach's alpha of .84 and a correlation of .71 with GAIN-SS SA (past year). The CST mental health and trauma items did not perform well as scales with Cronbach's alphas of .64 and .56, respectively. The CST-SA is a short, reliable, and valid measure of SA. Further study is needed to determine the best evaluation tool for the mental health portion of the COD screening instrument.
authors.affiliation: Department of Social & Behavioral Sciences, and The Institute for Health & Aging, San Francisco School of Nursing, University of California-San Francisco, 333 California Street, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA. marty.jessup@ucsf.edu
authors.forename: Martha A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Jessup
authors.forename: Suzanne L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Dibble
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D017831:Diagnosis, Dual (Psychiatry) / Q000295:instrumentation*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires