Tag: SASSI-A3

Adolescent Vaping: Examining the Dangers

It is with great pride that we announce the release of our latest adolescent research manuscript. This article is based on one key aspect of the Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory (SASSI) Institute’s forthcoming third iteration of the Adolescent Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory (SASSI-A3). While our primary goal was to develop a screening tool for adolescents that is concordant with the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) guidelines, we found other aspects of the instrument that we felt were beneficial to investigate further. This article, Vaping and Edibles: Self-Reported Usage Patterns Among Teens In and Out of Treatment, focuses on questions regarding cannabidiol (CBD) edible consumption and the extent of vaping to review and subsequently address these dangers in teens.

Teens that begin using alcohol, drugs, and tobacco early in adolescence are more likely to engage in vaping and edible usage. They are also more likely to use at a more frequent rate. Early intervention is a critical component towards preventing possible negative outcomes for substance misusing teens. Identifying these patterns will inevitably direct the course of subsequent clinical interviews and treatment planning.

Adolescent SASSI-A3 Available December 1st, 2020

Our Team at the Institute has been working tirelessly on a two-year research project to bring you an updated adolescent instrument that is validated against the DSM-5 diagnostic criteria.  Our research has produced multiple publications and allowed the SASSI-A3 to include some new features, including a brief scale, Prescription Drug (Rx), to accurately identify teens likely to be abusing prescription medications. The updated version also includes new subtle items to reflect current teen alcohol and drug use patterns, as well as several updated questions using contemporary teen verbiage, and additional Face Valid items to identify symptoms in the DSM-5.  The instrument also distinguishes likely Substance Use Disorder (SUD) from other psychological disorders; thus, the SASSI-A3 can accurately identify the presence and the absence of SUD, even when other psychological symptoms are present.

The SASSI-A3 will be available through SASSI Online immediately upon release and SASSI Online users can begin using it immediately on December 1st.  Paper & Pencil product will be available for pre-order starting November 1st, with our first shipment of SASSI-A3 product/s scheduled for December 4th.  After December 1st, the Adolescent SASSI-A2 Paper & Pencil material will remain available for purchase for a limited time, or while supplies last. 

Coming Soon: Adolescent SASSI-A3

               We wanted to provide you some important SASSI updates. We’re excited to announce that the research findings on the adolescent SASSI-A3 have been published! Within the coming weeks and next few months, we will be concentrating our efforts on publishing the SASSI-A3 instrument, which similarly to the adult screening tool, now includes a prescription drug scale and greater sensitivity to opioids and prescription medications. The updated instrument will be available on our online platform immediately on the release date. We will provide additional details and pre-ordering information as soon as we have a confirmed availability date. You can read the published finding here: Validity of the Adolescent Substance Abuse Screening Inventory-3 (SASSI-A3). We also expect to publish other manuscripts examining co-occurring disorders among some of these adolescents; and the increase and dangers of Vaping as a drug source for them and adults, which has increased dramatically in recent years. These manuscripts are in submission and we hope to have them published by year end as well.

On another note, despite wonderful advances in securing possible cures and vaccines, COVID-19 clinical trials, and worldwide collaboratives to address this virus, the unfortunate reality is that the case numbers continue to climb and sadly, the death toll continues to rise. This has forced many states and local governments, and even the federal government, to change well thought initiatives and plans, and even back-track on some of the openings and relaxing of public health statutes. As a result, many private practitioners and even some long-standing programs have had to continue furloughing operations, or sadly cease operating altogether. With even greater sadness, we have heard multiple reports from the substance abuse, treatment, and correctional field/s about the loss of family, colleagues and friends to this devastating disease, and our hearts and prayers continue to go out to their families.

The SASSI Institute remains committed to helping you stay connected and feel supported during this period of uncertainty. We will be informing you of developments as they occur on our end. But for now, please accept heartfelt wishes from all of us, that you and your families remain safe.                                   

We will get through this together!

#alonetogether

The Latest Research and COVID-19 Update from the CEO

In a previous post, we discussed how the COVID-19 crisis is affecting the substance use disorder field throughout the country. Unfortunately, last week showed a dramatic increase in the number of reported cases nationally, particularly towards the end of the week (more than 40,000 additional reported cases, mostly from the west coast and southwest). As a result, many colleagues that had reopened for business to provide clients with critically needed services, unfortunately, had to close their doors again. Locally, we also experienced spikes. Not unexpectedly, we have seen a larger number of conference and venue cancellations than the already high numbers of cancellations reported previously. Fortunately, several venues have opted to hold teleconferences, thus allowing for a return to some semblance of normalcy.

             Our number one concern at The SASSI Institute is maintaining the safety and care of those in the greatest need of help, the clients under your care. To do so effectively and efficiently, counselors, therapists, doctors, nurses, and all of us collectively, that engage in the work we do, must prioritize taking care of ourselves and practice the necessary precautions to enable those protections. We must adhere to the recommended CDC guidelines, including practicing social distancing, and engaging in frequent hand-washing.

            We want to report that internally, as a result of some local area infection spikes, regretfully we had to postpone the dates when we expected full operational in-house staffing. Despite this needed precaution, we have maintained our shipping capacity of paper products and our SASSI-Online platform is fully operational.  All other departments remain available during normal work hours to answer questions and provide assistance.

We are also very happy to report that our research department has three articles submitted for publication. And perhaps most importantly, we continue to ardently work on the upcoming release of the third iteration of our adolescent screening tool (SASSI A3). As previously reported, our adolescent “Fake Good” article was published in Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly in late December 2019.

            The SASSI Institute remains committed to helping you stay connected and supported during the COVID-19 crisis and these other periods of strife. As always, please accept our heartfelt wishes that you and your families remain safe.                                   

#alonetogether

Warm Regards,

Dr. Nelson Jose Tiburcio, CEO

Adolescent SASSI-A3 Research Update

The SASSI Institute conducted a validation project on the accuracy of the adolescent SASSI substance use screening measure with respect to the most current nationally accepted diagnostic standards for substance use disorders, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders diagnostic criteria (DSM-5). We are delighted to report that our data analyses is complete and presently we are preparing our findings for peer review submission and subsequent publication and dissemination.

Decision rules were formulated that would provide a good degree of accuracy using our development sample. Yet, the crucial issue is whether the SASSI-A3 scoring rules would be accurate when applied to a sample not used in formulating the decision rules. That is, how well does the SASSI-A3 cross-validate? When tested, we are pleased to report that the SASSI-A3 decision rules on the cross-validation sample results indicated an overall accuracy of 93.41%, 15.01% gain in sensitivity, 0.83% loss in specificity, and 9.75% gain in overall accuracy!

When released, SASSI-A3 will now include updated language reflecting current teen drug trends, a prescription drug abuse scale, as well as additional items. Once the publication review process is finalized, we are looking forward to making this updated tool available to professionals in the field.

We want to once again acknowledge and thank all the individuals and organizations who provided us with their valuable contributions.

Scarlett Baker, A.A. – SASSI A-3 Project Director, and SASSI Institute Director of Training

Article Accepted for Publication, One Step Closer to the Release of SASSI-A3

We are pleased to announce our most recent publication: “ Detecting “Faking good” with the Adolescent Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory- SASSI-A3: A Clinical Response to Alcohol & Other Drug Use Minimization among Teens in Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly.

This article compares honest and “fake” responses from participants with known Substance Use Disorders (SUDs).  It is the first publication using data from our most recent validation study to monitor the concordance and accuracy of the adolescent SASSI screening measure.  The data used for this publication was collected during our Adolescent (SASSI-A3) Validation Study.  Watch for more articles, as well as the release of our updated adolescent instrument later this year. 

If you would like a copy of this publication, please email us at research@sassi.com. We have a limited number of e-prints available to share with our friends and colleagues so reach out early to reserve your copy.