The concurrent validity of the Problem Oriented Screening Instrument for Teenagers (POSIT) substance use/abuse subscale in adolescent patients in an urban federally qualified health center

ABSTRACTBackground: The Problem Oriented Screening Instrument for Teenagers (POSIT) substance use/abuse subscale has been validated with high school students, adolescents with criminal justice involvement, and adolescent substance use treatment samples using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)-III-R and DSM-IV. This study examines the concurrent validityof the POSIT's standard 17-item substance use/abuse subscale and a revised, shorter 11-item version using DSM-5substance use disorder diagnoses. Methods: Adolescents (N = 525; 93% African American, 55% female) 12–17 years of age awaiting primary care appointments at a Federally Qualified Health Center in Baltimore, Maryland completed the 17-item POSIT substance use/abuse subscale and items from a modified World Mental Health Composite International Diagnostic Interview corresponding to DSM-5 alcohol use disorder(AUD) and cannabis use disorder(CUD). Receiver operating characteristic curves, sensitivities, and specificities we...