Psychometric Properties of the Polish version of the Drug-Use Disorders Identification Test

Abstract

Background: Substance use is a growing problem worldwide, and there is a great need to develop national policies addressing prevention and treatment of substance-use disorders (SUD). However, the lack of a commonly used, valuable diagnostic tool to assess the symptoms of SUDs precludes comparison of the prevalence of drug-use problems as well as the efficacy of policy strategies applied in different countries. This study was conducted to validate one of the commonly used scales the Drug Use Disorders Identification Test (the DUDIT) for use in Polish condition. Objectives: The aims of this study were to test the reliability of the DUDIT in the Polish population, to confirm the comparative stability of the factor structure of the instrument, and to verify previously proposed DUDIT cutoff scoring. Methods: The group of drug users comprised 127 patients aged 19-40 years (mean age 30.37, SD 6.36) with a diagnosis of SUD, while the control group consisted of 533 students aged 19-25 years (mean age 20.72, SD 1.88). All participants completed the Polish version of the DUDIT. Internal consistency of the Polish version of the DUDIT was determined, and subsequently external validation was performed. Results: Analysis showed that the Polish version of the DUDIT was characterized by a good reliability based on Cronbach's α, with a value of 0.92. The between-group comparison revealed a significant difference between the control group and substance-dependent patients corresponding to a large effect size (Cohen's d = 3.27). The receiver-operating characteristic analysis, comparing the DUDIT score to the ICD-10 diagnosis of SUD, showed an optimal cutoff value of 7 points, with a sensitivity of 0.929 and a specificity of 0.974. Conclusion: These results constitute preliminary evidence that the Polish version of the DUDIT may be a valid and reliable screening tool for drug-use disorders in the Polish population.

An evaluation of eight short versions of the Drug Use Disorder Identification Test (DUDIT). A prison population study

“…Several subsequent studies have echoed these results, and a literature review from 2015 concluded that the DUDIT performs “at a level that is at least comparable to, if not higher, than other drug screening instruments” ( Hildebrand, 2015 , p. 58). More recent research corroborates this conclusion (e.g., Basedow et al., 2021 ; Klimkiewicz et al., 2020 ; Sfendla et al., 2017 ).…”

“…According to Klimkiewicz et al. (2020) , the DUDIT is currently one of the most frequently recommended instruments for the screening of drug problems.…”

The Hazardous Use Scale of psychoactive substances. A pilot study

“…Similar properties are reported by the AU-DIT (r = 0.91) and DUDIT (r = 0.92), which indicates that the HUS is a tool of satisfactory reliability and can be compared with the methods commonly used so far. It is also worth noting that compared to other, less popular methods of measuring alcohol use intensity like the Alcohol Use Scale (r = 0.94), the HUS is relatively high [15,25,40].…”

“…The Polish version of the questionnaire is highly reliable and Cronbach's α was 0.92. Receiver Operator Characteristic (ROC) analysis indicated a cut-off point of 7 with sensitivity of 0.929 and specificity of 0.974 [15,25].…”

“…The Drug Use Disorders Identification Test (DUDIT) [25], along with an expanded version of the DUDIT-E [26], was constructed with reference to the AUDIT as a complement to it by researchers at Karolinska Institutet.…”