RESUMO
The revised Drug Use Screening Inventory (DUSI-R) is a self-report questionnaire designed to quantify the severity of problems that are commonly associated with consumption of alcohol and other drugs. This study extends research conducted on the US population to determine whether the DUSI-R's substance abuse scale discriminates Brazilian youths in treatment (n = 41) from a general population sample (n = 43). A Portuguese translation of the substance abuse scale was administered in paper and pencil format at the time of intake into treatment and to randomly selected youths in school. The mean score on the 15-item substance abuse scale in the treatment group was 6.7 compared to 1.9 in the comparison group (t = 6.78; p < .001). The optimal cut-off score of two positive endorsements has 85% sensitivity and 70% specificity. This study demonstrates that the DUSI-R's substance abuse scale is valid for screening Brazilian youths who require treatment.
Assuntos
Transtornos Relacionados ao Uso de Substâncias/diagnóstico , Adolescente , Brasil , Feminino , Humanos , Masculino , Escalas de Graduação Psiquiátrica , Sensibilidade e Especificidade , Detecção do Abuso de Substâncias , Inquéritos e QuestionáriosRESUMO
INTRODUCTION: Alcohol use is apparently related to high prevalences of psychiatric comorbidity, although scientific studies focusing the problem among adolescents are still lacking. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the performance of adolescents with different patterns of alcohol use on screening instruments for psychiatric disorders. METHOD: Forty-one adolescents seeking assistance for alcohol-related problems were compared to a nonclinical sample of 43 adolescents. These 84 users were divided in three sub-groups according to pattern of recent alcohol intake. All subjects responded to validated versions of screening scales for mental disorders. Comparison of groups was held through Analysis of variance (ANOVA). RESULTS: Self Report Questionnaire (SRQ) aims to evaluate the presence of mental disorders. Heavy users presented significant higher scores than the other groups (p < .05) and half of them presented a psychiatry diagnosis. The same was observed for the CES-D. Using the cut-off, 76.9% of daily-users adolescents were considered depressive. In the Beck Anxiety Inventory the same was observed and 50.0% of those adolescents who drank daily could be considered at risk of presenting anxiety disorders. CONCLUSION: We detected higher prevalences of mental disorders among heavy alcohol users. This reinforces the importance of detailed diagnostic investigation of patients.