A normative study of the Swedish adolescent drug abuse diagnosis (ADAD)

The aim of this study was to provide a standardization of the use of the Adolescent Drug Abuse Diagnosis (ADAD) among Swedish adolescents using interview self-reported and interviewer-rated problem severity. Data relating to nine life areas (medical status, school history and status, employment, social activities and peer relations, family background and relationships, psychological status and problems, legal involvement, alcohol use and drug use) were gathered from a randomized population-based sample of 847 adolescents aged 13-18 years. The results show that the effects of age, gender and geographic region were small but significant, with older adolescents, girls and adolescents in cities scoring higher for problem severity. Adolescents' scorings were in the range "no problems" to "small problems" and the interviewer severity ratings were in the range "no real problems" to "no need for further help". The conclusion is that individual score variations are much greater than can be attributed to age, gender or residential area. Consequently, the ADAD has the potential to serve as an instrument for assessing individual adolescents' self-reported problems in Sweden.