title: The Usefulness of the CRAFFT in Screening for Problematic Drug and Alcohol Use Among Youth Living with HIV.
abstract: Substance use is highly prevalent among youth living with HIV (YLWH) and negatively impacts HIV care. This study sought to determine whether the CRAFFT (Car, Relax, Alone, Forget, Friends, and Trouble), designed to screen for problematic substance use, is reliably associated with substance use behaviors among YLWH. A cross-sectional sample of 2216 youth (ages 12-26) were recruited through the adolescent medicine trials network for HIV/AIDS Interventions. Participants completed a self-administered survey. Over half screened positive on the CRAFFT (i.e., ≥2). Among frequent substance users, those older in age, behaviorally infected, with history of incarceration or unstably housed were more likely to screen positive on the CRAFFT. Study findings suggest that the CRAFFT reliably identifies youth who use substances. Thus, screening measures such as the CRAFFT should be utilized routinely in HIV clinical settings for youth.
authors.affiliation: Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, Brown University School of Public Health, 121 South Main Street, Providence, RI, 02129, USA. Kristi_Gamarel@brown.edu.|Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences, Brown University School of Public Health, 121 South Main Street, Providence, RI, 02129, USA. Kristi_Gamarel@brown.edu.
authors.forename: Kristi E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Gamarel
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI, USA.|Centers for Behavioral and Preventative Medicine, The Miriam Hospital, Providence, RI, USA.
authors.forename: Kimberly M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Nelson
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI, USA.|Department of Psychiatry, Rhode Island Hospital, Providence, RI, USA.
authors.forename: Larry
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.affiliation: College of Osteopathic Medicine, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA.
authors.forename: M Isabel
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Fernandez
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Sharon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nichols
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D015897:Comorbidity; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods*; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: CRAFFT; HIV; Substance use screening; Youth