ASSIST-Y V1.0: First-Stage Development of the WHO Alcohol,Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST) and Linked Brief Intervention for Young People

ABSTRACT

While the World Health Organization (WHO) Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST) is a useful screening and brief intervention tool for use with adults, the risk cut-offs are not appropriate for people under 18 years of age. Drawing on the literature available and expert clinical consultation and consensus, two distinct ASSIST-Youth (ASSIST-Y) questionnaires and Feedback Report cards with different score weightings were proposed, reflecting the dynamic nature of substance use-related risk in developing adolescents ages 10 to 14 years and ages 15 to 17 years old. Appropriate interventions also were recommended, with a strong emphasis on referral for assessment and management of broader psychosocial issues. This revised ASSIST for young people was developed with the intention that this “first-pass” set of cut-off scores and associated materials might form the basis for further psychometric validation of the youth ASSIST in the future, while still providing practitioners with a screening brief intervention option for using with young people in the interim.