Gm. Miele et al., Substance Dependence Severity Scale (SDSS): reliability and validity of a clinician-administered interview for DSM-IV substance use disorders, DRUG AL DEP, 59(1), 2000, pp. 63-75
No existing diagnostic interview assesses severity of dependence based on D
SM-IV criteria across a range of substances. The Substance Dependence Sever
ity Scale (SDSS) was designed to serve this purpose, consisting of substanc
e-specific scales of both severity and frequency of DSM-IV criteria. This s
tudy investigated the reliability and validity of the SDSS., The test-retes
t reliability of the SDSS in 175 (112 male and 63 female) treated substance
users ranged from good to excellent for alcohol, cocaine, heroin and sedat
ives (interclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) = 0.75-0.88 for severity,
0.67-0.85 for frequency). Results for cannabis were lower, ranging from fai
r to good (ICCs = 0.50-0.62). Results for joint rating and internal consist
ency reliability were comparable to test-retest findings. In addition to in
dicators of concurrent validity, scale applications are presented and discu
ssed. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.