Abstract
BackgroundA common screening instrument for substance use disorders (SUDs) is the Drug Use Disorders Identification Test (DUDIT) which includes a short form regarding only drug consumption (DUDIT-C). We aim to assess if a German version of the DUDIT, adapted for adolescents, is a suitable screening instrument in a sample of adolescent psychiatric patients.MethodsN = 124 (54 female) German adolescent (M = 15.6 + 1.5 years) psychiatric patients completed the DUDIT and received a diagnostic interview (MINI-KID) assessing DSM-5 SUD criteria. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, the area under the curve (AUC), and Youden’s Index were calculated.ResultsA two-factor model of the DUDIT shows the best model fit (CFI = 0.995, SRMR = 0.055, RMSEA = 0.059, WRMR = 0.603). The DUDIT as well as the DUDIT-C show high diagnostic accuracy, with AUC = 0.95 and AUC = 0.88, respectively. For the DUDIT a cut-off value of 8.5 was optimal (sensitivity = 0.93, specificity = 0.91, J = 0.84), while for the DUDIT-C the optimal cut-off value was at 1.5 (sensitivity = 0.86, specificity = 0.84, J = 0.70).ConclusionThis is the first psychometric evaluation of the DUDIT in German, adolescent psychiatric outpatients, using the DSM-5 diagnostic criteria. The DUDIT as well as the DUDIT-C are well suited for use in this population. Since in our sample only few patients presented with a mild or moderate SUD, our results need to be replicated in a sample of adolescents with mild SUD.
Highlights
About 1 in 20 (4.3%) German adolescents and young adults are diagnosed with a substance use disorder (SUD) related to illicit substances at some point in their life (Perkonigg et al, 2006)
For the Drug Use Disorders Identification Test (DUDIT)-total the optimal cut-off was at a value of 8.5, meaning 93% of SUD patients were correctly classified as SUD patients, while 9% of non-SUD patients were falsely classified as SUD patients
For the DUDITC the optimal cut-off was at a value of 1.5, with which 86% of SUD patients were correctly classified and 16% of non-SUD patients incorrectly classified
Summary
About 1 in 20 (4.3%) German adolescents and young adults are diagnosed with a substance use disorder (SUD) related to illicit substances at some point in their life (Perkonigg et al, 2006). A SUD diagnosis in adolescence is associated with a number of additional impairments such as lower school performance, higher mortality rates, and worse overall health (Rattermann, 2014; Schulte and Hser, 2014; Lindblad et al, 2016). An accurate and quick recognition of a SUD in adolescents is important since faster treatment initiation is associated with higher engagement and success rates (Chi et al, 2006). The adaptation of SUD criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) was meant to serve a purpose of precise and fast identification (Hasin et al, 2013). A common screening instrument for substance use disorders (SUDs) is the Drug Use Disorders Identification Test (DUDIT) which includes a short form regarding only drug consumption (DUDIT-C). We aim to assess if a German version of the DUDIT, adapted for adolescents, is a suitable screening instrument in a sample of adolescent psychiatric patients
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