Revision of the Self-Administered Alcoholism Screening Test (SAAST-R): A Pilot Study

Abstract

The original Self-Administered Alcoholism Screening Test (SAAST; Swenson and Morse, 1975) is a self-report alcoholism screening measure intended for use with adult medical patients. However, the SAAST does not indicate the recency of alcohol use-related problems, not all items use the appropriate verb tense for assessing lifetime experience of alcohol use-related problems, many of the items contain out-dated language, and the diagnostic criteria for alcohol dependence and alcohol abuse are not fully represented. The SAAST was revised to address these issues. This paper describes the rationale for revision and the process through which the SAAST was revised. Preliminary information about comparability of the original SAAST and the revised version (SAAST-R) was obtained. Data are presented from two intervention trials for smokers in which both the SAAST and SAAST-R were administered. One sample was comprised of participants in recovery from alcoholism (N = 60; 82% male) and the other sample consisted of participants not meeting criteria for alcohol abuse or dependence within the previous year (N = 98; 45% male). The results suggest that the SAAST-R is highly correlated with the original SAAST, has a similar factor structure, good internal consistency, and correctly identifies those in recovery from alcoholism. Areas for refinement in the format and items of the SAAST-R were identified and suggestions for further validation studies are presented.

Validation of the Revised Self‐Administered Alcohol Screening Test (SAAST‐R)

“…Results also indicated that the factor structure was similar for both the SAAST and SAAST‐R 1 . Factor analysis of the SAAST‐R items yielded a two‐factor solution accounting for 81% of the variance.…”

“…After 30 years of SAAST use among medical patients, however, several research and clinical issues pointed to the need for a revision 1 . The format and items of the SAAST were revised to allow for an improved clarity of the results, such as to allow the researcher or clinician to differentiate between current and past drinking status and to separate respondents in recovery from those with current dependence.…”

“…Items corresponding to DSM‐IV criteria for alcohol dependence or abuse 4 were added, and the language of the items was modified for consistency of time frame. The revision process has been described in detail elsewhere 1 …”

“…In a pilot study, 1 both the original SAAST and the revised version (SAAST‐R) were administered to participants enrolled in smoking cessation trials. One sample was comprised of 60 participants with remitted alcoholism with at least 12 months of alcohol abstinence, and the other consisted of 98 participants not meeting DSM‐IV criteria for alcohol abuse or dependence.…”

“… This study examined the sensitivity and specificity of the revised Self‐Administered Alcohol Screening Test (SAAST‐R) 1 among adult outpatients evaluated at community addictions and psychiatry and psychology clinics. A total of 417 adults (mean ± SD age of 41.4 ± 15.0 years, 52% female, 91% Caucasian) completed the 36‐item SAAST‐R prior to their evaluation.…”