There exist hundreds of different screening instruments and assessments for the treatment of substance abuse, serving a wide variety of purposes. Counselors use these tools to determine the extent of addiction in patients, whether patients have a mental disorder, which treatment measures are appropriate to address patients’ drug abuse, and whether further assessments are needed. While screening instruments are for the preliminary detection of a possible problem, assessment tools are for identifying the nature of the problem.
One example of standardized screening measure that is used in substance abuse treatment is the Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory (SASSI -3), used to determine if an adult or adolescent patient has a substance abuse disorder (Miller, 1985). This instrument is appropriate for patients aged 12 and older who are at a high risk for developing a substance abuse disorder and can be administered in both inpatient and outpatient settings. It has an empirically tested accuracy of 93 percent, according most recent estimates. The SASSI-3 works by identifying both face valid and subtle risk factors that indicate the presence of substance abuse in patients. The SASSI-3 is considered a standardized test because it is administered and scored according to pre-established guidelines, ensuring its objectivity.
A non-standardized assessment that can be used for the treatment of substance abuse is the unstructured clinical interview (Samet, Waxman, Hatzenbuelher, & Hasin, 2007). Unstructured interviews are often used to establish the tone of the counselor-patient relationship. For this reason, they are also referred to as the discovery interview. The unstructured interview follows a flexible interview schedule with open-ended questions that allow interviewers to probe for a deeper and more personal understanding of their interviewees’ unique situation. Like the SASSI-3, they can be used to diagnose substance abuse disorders in adult or adolescent patients, as well as to initiate courses of treatment when the presence of a disorder has been confirmed. Unlike standardized assessments and screening tools, unstructured clinical interviews are considered unstandardized because the questions are not prearranged.
References
Miller, G. A. (1985). The substance abuse subtle screening inventory (SASSI) manual. Springville, IN: SASSI Institute.
Samet, S., Waxman, R., Hatzenbuehler, M., & Hasin, D. S. (2007). Assessing addiction: Concepts and instruments. Addiction science & clinical practice, 4(1), 19-31.
