SSI-SA
ValidatedSimple Screening Instrument for Substance Abuse (SSI-SA)
Adults (18+)Self, Clinician~4 min23 questions
During the past 6 months: answer each question "Yes" or "No".
Report details · optional
Shown on the report and stored with the screening record. Use initials or a code, not full names.
Answers, results and report details are recorded by OpenScreener to monitor and improve the service. Privacy
About this screener — evidence, source
Developed by a CSAT consensus panel (TIP 11) from items of established screeners such as the AUDIT, CAGE, DAST and MAST. Covers consumption, preoccupation and loss of control, consequences, problem recognition, and tolerance and withdrawal in the past 6 months, plus lifetime questions. Widely used in criminal justice, outreach and hospital settings.
Evidence · validated
In 6,664 adult Florida Medicaid enrollees, internal consistency was .85 and, at the recommended cut-off of 4 or more, sensitivity was .82 and specificity .90 for a substance abuse problem (Boothroyd et al., Eval Health Prof 2015;38:538–562).
Source & licence
Center for Substance Abuse Treatment. Simple Screening Instruments for Outreach for Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse and Infectious Diseases. Treatment Improvement Protocol (TIP) Series 11. DHHS Publication No. (SMA) 94-2094. Rockville, MD: SAMHSA; 1994. Reprinted in SAMHSA TIP 42, Substance Use Disorder Treatment for People With Co-Occurring Disorders (PEP20-02-01-004), Appendix C.
Licence: Public domain — TIP 42 reprints the SSI-SA "from material in the public domain" (CSAT, 1994); its notice states materials "are in the public domain and may be reproduced or copied without permission from SAMHSA or the authors."
Wording from TIP 42 Appendix C. Scoring (items 1 and 15 not scored; 4 or more = positive) from the Connecticut DMHAS copy of the form (https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/dmhas/cosig/ssiaodpdf.pdf) and TIP 42 chapter 3.
Official source ↗