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Psychometric Properties of a Revised Form of the Drug-Taking Confidence Questionnaire for Use with Adolescents

NCJ Number
226054
Author(s)
Danielle E. Ramo; Mark G. Myers; Sandra A. Brown
Date Published
January 2009
Length
19 pages
Annotation
This study examined the factor structure and psychometric properties of the adult-based Drug-Taking Confidence Questionnaire (DTCQ) in a clinical sample of adolescent substance abusers.
Abstract
Findings provided initial evidence for the validity of the revised DTCQ for substance-use disordered (SUD) adolescents. Several differences exist between the scales in the revised form (five factors) and the original form (eight factors), which appear to reflect that the self-efficacy construct is associated with the relapse experiences adolescents have most often. High confidence for coping in negative situations was associated with urges to use, the importance of not using, and likelihood of resisting use in a situation related to interpersonal and intrapersonal conflict. Coping self-efficacy in the other four situations represented in the revised DTCQ was significantly associated with appraisal variables in a social situation. These results suggest that the revised DTCQ does measure situation-specific aspects of self-efficacy. The differences in factor structure between the adult and adolescent forms of the DTCQ are consistent with previous literature suggesting that the structure of cognitions associated with alcohol and drug involvement changes as adolescents gain more experience with substance use. The reduced number of factors in the revised DTCQ suggests that situational self-efficacy is less differentiated among adolescents than in previous samples of adults. Data were collected from 223 adolescents while in treatment for substance abuse and comorbid psychiatric disorders. Tables, figure, and references