Psychometric and diagnostic properties of the Drug Abuse Screening Test (DAST): Comparing the DAST-20 vs. the DAST-10
Date
2015
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Instituto Nacional de Psiquiatría Ramón de la Fuente Muñiz
Abstract
Description
Background
The use of reliable and valid self-report questionnaires to identify drug use disorders (DUD) is a strategy that has shown usefulness for screening. One of the instruments more used for detection is the Drug Abuse Screening Test (DAST). The psychometric properties in the 20- and 10-item versions have been evaluated in other countries but in Mexico the psychometric and diagnostic properties of both versions are yet to be evaluated.
Objective
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the psychometric and diagnostic properties of DAST-20 and -10.
Method
The sample included 565 participants receiving care in addiction residential centers. The DAST-20 was used as a measure to screen for DUD, and the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview 5.0 was used as "gold standard" for the DUD diagnosis. Cronbach's α and CFA were estimated in order to evaluate the psychometric properties. The Receiver Operator Characteristic (ROC) analysis was used to examine the diagnostic properties of each version.
Results
Both versions obtained a Cronbach's α ≥ .80, an optimal goodness of fit for the one factor model and Areas Under the Curve ≥ .90 (95% CI 87-93) for both versions.
Discussion and conclusion
DAST-20 and -10 versions are reliable and valid tools for DUD assessment and screening.