Assessing the Reliability of Scores Produced by the Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory |
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| Authors: | Christopher S. Miller Joshua Woodson Ryan T. Howell Alan L. Shields |
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| Affiliation: | 1. VA Puget Sound Health Care System, Seattle, Washington, USA;2. PRO Consulting, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA;3. East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, Tennessee, USA;4. San Francisco State University, San Francisco, California, USA;5. East Tennessee State University, McLean Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Belmont, Massachusetts, USA |
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| Abstract: | The Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory (SASSI) is a 10 scale indirect screening instrument used to detect substance use disorders. The current meta-analytic study described reliability reporting practices across 48 studies involving the SASSI. Reliability generalization methods were then employed to evaluate typical score reliability for the screening measure. Results showed approximately 73% of studies did not report reliability estimates. Analysis of data from the remaining studies revealed adequate reliability for the total scale (α = .87) and face valid scales (FVA α = .88 and FVOD α = .92), but substantially lower reliability estimates for the indirect scales (range of α = .23–.65). The study's findings underscore the need for improved reliability reporting for the SASSI and suggest cautious use of the measure, especially its indirect scales, as an indicator of problematic substance use/abuse in clinical settings. |
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| Keywords: | The Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory (SASSI) substance abuse scales reliability induction reliability generalization meta-analysis |
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