Screening for risk factors for adolescent alcohol and drug use
M. Klitzner, R. H. Schwartz, P. Gruenewald and M. Blasinsky
While alcohol and drug abuse are widely prevalent among adolescents,
screening for drug and alcohol use, abuse, and risk factors is not a
routine practice in primary care pediatrics. This article presents data
from a pilot investigation of an instrument for in-office screening of
alcohol and drug use and abuse problems. A 42-item questionnaire was
administered to two patient populations: 97 youths from a drug abuse
treatment program and 206 youths from a private pediatric practice. The
questionnaire successfully discriminated between the two samples and
appears capable of discriminating drug and alcohol risk within the samples.
This research suggests that a simple paper-and-pencil questionnaire can
successfully discriminate the degree of risk of substance abuse in
adolescent patient populations and that such an instrument can be
successfully integrated into the routine activities of pediatric practice.
