A comprehensive web-based screening system for youth with individualized motivational feedback

The American Medical Association's Guidelines for Adolescent Prevention Services (GAPS) states that youth should be screened annually for many problem behaviors. Yet many providers do not routinely screen for all of the targeted risk behaviors. Danya International, Inc., with funding from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), has developed a web-based comprehensive screening system for youths 11 to 19 years old called Multi-problem Youth (MPY). Using Flash technology and interactive video to encourage participation, the algorithm also keeps the screening short and automatically delivers individualized motivational messages. The risk behaviors include 15 life domains: suicide risk, alcohol or drug abuse, tobacco use, abuse or neglect, threatening violence, committing sexual violence, depression or anxiety, eating disorders, school safety, sexual behavior, exercise and diet, social-coping skills, family environment, academic problems, and motor vehicle safety. The screening tool evaluation of validity, reliability, and intervention efficacy is by RTI. MPY begins with a video of two college-aged actors who explain the instrument, encourage the youth to participate, then read the questions. The screener is actually a three-level integrated prescreening and screening system that also takes advantage of co-morbidity research to ask increasingly specific questions to quickly identify problem behavior areas At the end the actors deliver up to three prioritized motivational messages that provide customized responses to youth, addressing both the seriousness of the behavior and their willingness to change. This presentation discusses the development and refinement of the screening/intervention tool, as well as the results of the psychometric evaluation.