Substance use/abuse among juvenile delinquents is alarmingly high. Data from several studies suggest that the prevalence of diagnosable substance use disorders for the aforementioned population ranges from 19 to 67% (CSAT, 1999). Furthermore, research suggests that substance abuse and delinquent crimes are highly correlated. Given the high prevalence rates of substance use in juvenile delinquents and the limited resources of juvenile justice facilities, a substance abuse screening instrument should help identify those delinquent youth most in need of additional assessment and intensive treatment services. The proposed research project is designed to develop and evaluate a substance abuse screening instrument for juvenile justice populations. A total of sixty juvenile offenders will be recruited for the purpose of assessing the instruments' psychometric properties. Specifically, Test-Retest Reliability, Concurrent Validity, and Normative data will be evaluated. The results of this research project can be used to inform the future development of substance abuse tools for juvenile justice populations.
