A Clinical Instrument to Guide Brief Interventions for Adolescents With Substance Use Concerns
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Mary M. Ramos, Teddy Warner, Daisy V. Rosero, & Timothy P. Condon
Ramos et al. explore the CHISPA (Cocaine, Heroin, IV drugs, Synthetic Pot, Pot, Alcohol) screening instrument which was developed to gather specific information on recent substance use experience to inform brief interventions for adolescents with positive CRAFFT screens. In 2015, members of the research team conducted a test-retest study at two school-based health centers (SBHC) where the CRAFFT and CHISPA were administered twice over two weeks to 99 high school-aged SBHC users. Using the CHISPA, students reported specific substances used, frequency of use, and signs of addictions or acute danger for the prior three months. Retest reliability for the CRAFFT score was 0.82 and CHISPA retest reliabilities were: 0.75 for alcohol use; 0.91 for having used any substances; 0.92 for number of substances used; 0.81 for frequency of substance use; and 0.79 for number of adverse events. CHISPA measures show preliminary evidence of reliability and validity. Providers in SBHC and primary care settings who use the CRAFFT screen may benefit from implementing the more targeted CHIPSA to identify recent substance use experience and guide brief interventions for adolescents with substance use concerns.