Background and aims: There is currently no well-validated measure that assesses a broad spectrum of substance-related and behavioural addictions in general populations. This study aimed to develop a brief self-attribution Screener for Substance and Behavioural Addictions (SSBA) to screen for four substances and six behaviours, and to compare its performance with established individual-behaviour screening instruments.
Design: A small, psychometrically optimal set of items to assess self-attributed indicators of addiction across alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, cocaine, gambling, shopping, videogaming, overeating, sexual activity and overworking were identified from a broader pool that was developed using a lay epidemiology qualitative approach. The suitability of the four-item single-factor solution was tested for each behaviour and scores were compared with those obtained from the sample using individual-behaviour screening instruments.
Setting and participants: Participants (n = 6000), broadly representative of the Canadian English-speaking adult population, were recruited through the Ipsos Reid Canadian Online Panel.
Measurements: Participants completed an item pool of 15 indicators of addiction for each target behaviour and a validation instrument for one randomly assigned behaviour.
Findings: A set of four items identified using principal component and confirmatory factor analyses demonstrated good fit and excellent internal consistency (α = 0.87-0.95) across behaviours, and good convergent validity (rs = 0.44-0.8) with extant instruments measuring similar constructs, with only one exception (r = 0.26).
Conclusions: The proposed Screener for Substance and Behavioural Addiction is a reliable and valid measure assessing the lay public's self-attributed indicators of addiction across 10 substances and behaviours.
Keywords: Addiction; Screener for Substance and Behavioural Addictions; addictive behaviours; behavioural addiction; epidemiology; screening; substance use.
© 2018 Society for the Study of Addiction.