NCJ Number
154378
Journal
Addictive Behaviors Volume: 17 Dated: (1992) Pages: 227-235
Date Published
1992
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This study examined attributions for substance use in a sample of 92 adolescents who were incarcerated because of severe behavioral problems.
Abstract
A new 50-item questionnaire, the Inventory of Drug Taking Situations (IDTS), was used to assess reasons for drug use. The IDTS yields eight subscales that correspond to risky situations identified by Marlatt and others. On the IDTS, subjects indicate how often they used their drug of choice when confronted with each risky situation. The IDTS scales had good internal consistency and higher scores were significantly associated with self-reports of drug-use frequency. Furthermore, IDTS scores were most valid for the type of drug the measure identified. Adolescents reported that they tended to use drugs more often in response to positive and/or interpersonal experiences, as opposed to negative and/or internal ones. Positive, negative, interpersonal, and internal reasons for use were all equally correlated with frequency of use. In the most heavily drug- involved adolescents, however, negative reasons were more highly correlated with frequency of use than positive reasons. Treatment implications of these findings are discussed. 6 tables and 11 references