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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Arlene Terras, PhD, Albert Einstein Healthcare Network, Einstein Center for Urban Health Policy and Research, One Penn Blvd Suite 4423, Philadelphia, PA 19141, 215-951-8137, TerrasA@einstein.edu and Nora Madison-Thompson, BA, Einstein Center for Urban Health Policy and Research, Albert Einstein Healthcare Network, 1 Penn Blvd, Suite 4442, Philadelphia, PA 19144.

Background: The Adolescent Drug Abuse Diagnosis (ADAD), a validated and internationally used assessment and research instrument, was developed in 1985 on a grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). Major changes have occurred over the past 30 years in both the patterns of youth drug abuse and in the methods by which we evaluate substance abuse in this population. This presentation will address the revision process, that is being undertaken to assure the continued utility and efficacy of this widely used instrument.

Objectives: 1) To describe the process of the ADAD protocol revision. 2) To highlight current concepts in adolescent assessment and treatment, including the strengths-based approach. 3) To present the results of the field-testing experience with the updated version of the ADAD.

Methods: Feedback data are collected through use of an expert panel on adolescents, substance use, assessment, and current and past users of the ADAD. These data are incorporated into information gathered through the systematic literature review to produce the preliminary revised tool. A protocol analysis is conducted on the revised items and content areas with a sample of youth volunteers.

Results: A working draft of the revised instrument will be presented for discussion along with our plans for revalidation with a group of national and international collaborators.

Learning Objectives:

• To identify the major changes in patterns of youth drug abuse over the past decade.
• To describe the evolution of research-based treatment methods for adolescent drug abusers.
• To explain the importance of the strengths-based approach in assessing adolescents.

Keywords: Drug Abuse, Adolescent Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation