Screening for risk of substance use: validating the adolescent domain screening inventory among a sample of juvenile offenders

Juvenile offenders are especially at-risk for developing a substance use disorder due to the strong association between delinquent behavior and alcohol and other drug use Various forms of assessment are employed by substance abuse treatment agencies, hospitals and youth centers to indentify youth who are in need of substance use treatment or other preventive interventions. The ADSI is a screening instrument that was designed to identify adolescents who are at-risk for developing a substance use disorder while considering the underlying risk and protective factors associated with substance use and other problem behavior. The present study assessed the validity of the ADSI among a sample of 121 juvenile offenders. Results from a confirmatory factor analysis provided support for the four-factor structure originally proposed by Corrigan and colleagues consisting of Individual/Peer, School, Family, and Community domains. Results provided also provided evidence of content, predictive and convergent validity. Overall, evidence provided support for the validity and utility of the ADSI in juvenile justice settings with the caveat that further research should be conducted on the ADSI prior to implementing this screening instrument.