Module 2: Screening and Assessment

6C. Instruments That Measure Mental Health and Substance Abuse Disorders

The Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) has developed a series of publications titled Treatment Improvement Protocols (TIPs), which may be located at their website. Screening and Assessing Adolescents for Substance Use Disorders addresses important issues in this area and summarizes several substance abuse and mental health instruments (TIP 31, 1998).

Instruments That Measure Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders

• The Child and Adolescent Functional Assessment Scale (CAFAS) (Hodges, 1995)
• The Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children (DISC) (Shaffer et al., 1993)
• The Problem Oriented Screening Instrument for Teenagers (POSIT) (Rahdert, 1991)
• Personal Experience Inventory (PEI) (Winters & Henly, 1989)
• Comprehensive Addiction Severity Index for Adolescents (CASI-A) (Meyers, 1996)
• Adolescent Self-Assessment Profile (ASAP) (Wanberg, 1991)
• Substance Use Survey IA (SUS IA) (Wanberg, 1992)
• The Massachusetts Youth Screening Instrument: MAYSI~2, Second Version (Grisso et al., 2000)

MAYSI The Massachusetts Youth Screening Instrument (MAYSI) was developed in 1996 to identify potential mental health needs of youths in the juvenile justice system. It also asks about a youth's substance use. It is a 52-item self-report yes/no questionnaire that asks youth if they have had specific experiences "within the past few months." A youth’s answers on the MAYSI generates nine scales: Angry Feelings, Anxiety, Depressed Mood, Fighting, Somatic Complaints, Suicide Ideation, Thought Disturbance, Traumatic Experiences, and Alcohol/Drug Use.

MAYSI~2 - What makes the MAYSI~2 different from most of the other screening tools that have been discussed is that it was specifically normed for use with youth who have come into contact with juvenile justice. The MAYSI~2 is not intended to provide psychiatric diagnoses but instead identifies youth who are experiencing current mental/emotional distress, may have a substance abuse problem, and/or are displaying problematic behavior. The MAYSI~2 can be used at any entry or transitional placement point in the juvenile justice system (e.g., intake, training schools, group home, parole).

The MAYSI~2 is an ideal mental health screening tool in the juvenile justice system because it:

• Screens for a range of mental or emotional disturbances and problem behaviors (i.e., suicide, alcohol/drug use, anger, depressed mood)
• Can be applied to wide range of youth (i.e., younger and older youth, males and females, of various cultures and backgrounds)
• Is quick and easy to administer and score (about 15 minutes)
• Can be administered, scored, and interpreted by non-mental health professionals
• Is normed on a population of youth who have had contact with the juvenile justice system
• Demonstrates good statistical reliability and validity
• Has a low cost for materials and scoring format