Concordance between DSM-III-R and DSM-IV diagnoses of substance use disorders in adolescents

Except for cannabis and alcohol, concordance between DSM-III-R and DSM-IV s ubstance use disorder diagnoses has not been reported in adolescents. We as sessed a clinical sample of 102 adolescents using CIDI-SAM. prevalence of e ither an abuse or dependence diagnosis was lower with DSM-IV than DSM-III-R except for cannabis and alcohol, and concordance rates were better for dep endence than for abuse. For most substances, rates of DSM-IV withdrawal wer e lower than in DSM-III-R, but rates of DSM-IV physiological dependence rem ained high. Changes in DSM-IV criteria appear to have impacted diagnoses in these adolescents, particularly for the substances they use most - i.e. al cohol, tobacco, and cannabis. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All ri ghts reserved.