Matthew J. Corrigan

Moving the Risk and Protective Factor Framework Toward Individualized Assessment in Adolescent Substance Abuse Prevention

ABSTRACT The field of substance abuse prevention has evolved towards a risk and protective factor paradigm in explaining the onset and escalation of adolescent substance use. This framework for understanding the problem has been developed and employed by researchers at the University of Washington, under Doctors Hawkins and Catalano, to assess communities for high-risk and low protection. Currently, there are no individual instruments to assess adolescents on these risk and protective factors. This article argues for the need of such an instrument, one that is time manageable and comprehensive. It is suggested that using a two-step method for assessment could meet these goals.

The Development and Preliminary Validation of the Adolescent Domain Screening Inventory: A Substance Use Prevention Tool.

The objective of this study was to develop a screen assessing domains in at-risk and substance-using adolescents. The Adolescent Domain Screening Inventory (ADSI) consists of four subscales: school, family, community, and individual or peer. A convenience sample of 6,661 youths was employed. Analyses included concurrent criterion validity, known instrument construct validity, convergent construct validity, cut points, and gender and race correlations. Concurrent criterion validity correlations range from r =.85 to r =.95. Correlation for known instrument validity is r =.56 and convergent construct validity is r =.49. Cut points produced positive predictive values ranging from .46 to .53. The ADSI demonstrated a general applicability across gender and race. The ADSI is an instrument demonstrating acceptable psychometric properties.

The Development of a Substance Abuse Curriculum in a Master's of Social Work Program.

Substance abuse has been identified as a significant social problem. Social work is uniquely positioned to affect this problem. Kennesaw State University has established a substance abuse concentration as part of its masters of social work program. The purpose of this article is to describe the development of this curriculum. The curriculum is based on a biopsychosocial view of human functioning and consists of 6 advanced courses: 2 practice, 2 behavior, 1 policy, and 1 seminar. Because of its proximity to the consequences, its ability to work at multiple societal levels, and its value base, it is imperative that the social work profession continues to embrace and enhance its role as a leader in treating and researching substance abuse issues.

Item Selection Methods for the Adolescent Domain Screening Inventory

Objective: The purpose of this article is to describe the method of item selection tested in the development of the Adolescent Domain Screening Inventory. Method: The convenience sampling frame used for these analyses consisted of 26,781 Communities That Care Youth Surveys. The three item selection methods were used to assess known instrument, convergent construct, and concurrent criterion validities. Results: Method 3, multiple regression on 30-day use, performed the best on the correlations with outcome scales and was indistinguishable from the others on the correlations with the original. Conclusions: This study suggests that the dominant method of short-form item selection, factor analysis loading, might not be only method a researcher can employ and may not be best for all purposes.

A Social Work Response to the Affordable Care Act: Prevention and Early Intervention

ABSTRACT The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act represents a reinvestment in primary care, with a focus on prevention of illness and remediation of the impacts of chronic diseases through a behavioral health framework. Licensed social work professionals, specifically those trained in behavioral health, are a natural fit to help implement these new approaches. Though there are many evidence-based interventions that will be helpful, two that come from the field of substance abuse ought to be specifically beneficial: SAMHSA’s SBIRT Model and Motivational Interviewing, developed by Miller and Rollnick. In response to the growing need for specially trained social work practitioners, the Social Work Program at Seton Hall University has developed the initial concentration of its MSW Program around these learning needs.

Prevention Counseling and Student Assistance Programs: A Review of the Literature

Substance abuse prevention counseling can be found in two venues: school counseling and student assistance programs (SAPs). School prevention counseling is based on school psychology and guidance counseling. The authors of this article did not find any empirical studies of prevention counseling. Six criteria were used to assess the published research on SAPs: research designs, sampling methods, measures, procedures, analyses, and peer review of results. SAP studies reviewed were placed in one of three levels: Rigorous (N = 3; met all inclusion criteria), Informative (N = 2; met all criteria except peer review), and Evaluative (N = 5; weak design, but explicit in describing methods). The Rigorous Studies found a decrease in substance use or risk factors. The two Informative Studies found a decrease in substance use. The Evaluative Studies demonstrated the prevention of increases in substance use.

Reliability Analyses for the ADSI: Test-Retest and Internal Consistency

Objective: This article reports on two separate studies of reliability of the Adolescent Domain Screening Inventory (ADSI), test-retest and internal consistency analyses. The ADSI has shown adequate validity, although reliability has not been established. Methods: Study 1: Students were recruited from two undergraduate courses (N = 29). Participants were administered the ADSI twice, 14 days apart. Data were analyzed using SPSS software; correlations were computed for all four domains and the total score. Study 2: A secondary data analysis of 6,661 cases was conducted using the Scale – Reliability Analysis function in SPSS to determine the Cronbach alpha for each domain in the ADSI. Results: Study 1: Correlations were as follow: Total – r = .95; school – r = .84; family – r = .85; community – r = .80; and individual/peer – r = .95. Study 2: Alphas were as follow: .53 – school, .62 – family, .55 – community, and .82 – individual/peer. Conclusions: Together, these studies provide evidence for the reliability of the ADSI.

Characteristics of Student Assistance and Prevention Counseling Programs in Response to Environmental Impacts

The impacts of the terror attacks of September 11, 2001, were observed in Student Assistance and Prevention Counseling programs in New York schools. Methods: A mixed-method study of programs across the state, consisting of interviews (N = 14) and record reviews (N = 407), was conducted in New York State in 2002. Standardized state forms were used for quantitative data collection and frequencies were analyzed. Results: An analysis of referral source before and after September 11, 2001, showed that self-referrals were slightly higher after September 11, 2001. Using data from students admitted before September 11, 2001, as a baseline, there were some shifts observed in reason for admission following the terrorist attacks. Increase of services was typical for the schools closest to the World Trade Center site and in the New York metropolitan area. Discussion: Due to the flexible nature of Student Assistance and Prevention Counseling services, programs were able to redirect both staff and resources to attempt to meet the need brought about by this tragedy.

Predictive Validity Test of the Adolescent Domain Screening Inventory

Objective: This study assesses the Adolescent Domain Screening Inventory (ADSI) to identify adolescents at high risk of substance use. Method: The sampling frame consisted of 26,781 surveys, and a secondary analysis was conducted. A random 25% sample was used, leaving 6,661 cases. Binary logistic regressions were run to determine the predictive validity of the total ADSI and its 4 domains. Results: The ADSI correctly predicted high risk 93% of the time and problematic use 84.3% of the time. Conclusions: The results indicate the ADSI should be considered for use to assess adolescents for high risk status for substance use, or to identify those already engaged in substance use.

The Development of the ADSI: Construct Validity for the Communities That Care Youth Survey

Objective: This article describes the process of factor analysis conducted upon data collected in New York State as a show of construct validity for the Social Development Model (SDM). Methods: The convenience sampling frame used for these analyses consisted of 26,781 Communities That Care Youth Surveys (CTCYS). Principal component factor analysis was run to determine the number of factors and which items factored into them from the New York State data. Results: A total of 32 factors was found in this data. This compares to the 34 factors predicted in the model. Discussion: The factors, and items within the factors, corresponded well enough to validate the theoretical framework suggested by the model. The results of this study seem to confirm the construct validity of the SDM and the CTCYS as an operationalization of that model.