Screening High-Risk Youths for Potential Problems: Field Application in the Use of the Problem Oriented Screening Instrument for Teenagers (POSIT)

• NCJ Number: 156890
• Journal: Journal of Child and Adolescent Substance Abuse Volume: 3 Issue: 4 Dated: (1994) Pages: 69-93
• Author(s): R Dembo; G Turner; P Borden; J Schmeidler; D Manning
• Date Published: 1994
• Length: 25 pages
• Sponsoring Agency: Florida Dept of Health and Rehabilitative Services
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This article reports the results of using the Problem Oriented Screening Instrument for Teenagers (POSIT) among delinquent youths processed at the Juvenile Assessment Center in Tampa, Florida, during its first month of operation in May, 1993.

Abstract

The POSIT was developed for use among adolescents between the ages of 12 and 19. These preliminary results suggest that, consistent with the literature, high prevalence rates were found in the 10 domains probed by the instrument (i.e., substance use, physical health status, mental health status, family relations, educational status, peer relations, vocational status, social skills, leisure and recreation activities, and aggressive behavior or delinquency). Factor analysis revealed two clusters which correlated in anticipated ways with referral history variables, the youths' self-reported alcohol and marijuana use, and their reported participation in mental health or substance abuse treatment. With the exception of age, sociodemographic variables were not significantly related to the two POSIT factors. 8 tables, 1 note, 25 references, and 1 appendix