Individuals who are screened for substance use disorders often have presenting complaints related to other psychological and medical health issues, as well as difficulty in functioning and adjustment in other life domains (e.g., work, parenting, financial, and legal). It is important, therefore, that a screening instrument used to identify individuals in need of further evaluation for substance use disorders is able to discriminate between SUD and other mental health issues or poor adjustment and functioning.

Analyses were conducted to evaluate the accuracy of SASSI-4 SUD screening out-comes in a sample of individuals who had co-occurring psychiatric disorders (i.e., dual diagnoses for SUD and one or more psychiatric disorders such as depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, etc.) and a sample of individuals who were diagnosed as not having a substance use disorder but who did have one or more non-SUD related diagnoses (i.e., were criterion negative for SUD).

Findings are presented in Table 18 and indicate excellent SASSI-4 screening sensitivity in detecting SUD in clients who had both SUD and another psychological disorder. Findings also showed high specificity in producing negative SASSI-4 screening outcomes for individuals who were diagnosed with non-SUD related disorders only. Overall SUD screening accuracy in this sample was 97%.  These findings provide evidence of construct validity and the precision of the SASSI-4 in identifying likely SUD specifically, rather than identifying individuals who may be in need of treatment for life stressors, poor adjustment and functioning, or other psychological health issues.

Extracted from: 

Lazowski, L. E., Kimmell, K.S., & Baker, S.L. (2016). The Adult Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory-4 (SASSI-4) User Guide & Manual. Springville, IN: The SASSI Institute.