Low Literacy Mental Health Screening Instrument

We will establish the validity and reliability of the WBDI, a new low-literacy depression screeninginstrument. The instrument is designed for use with drug abusers entering treatment. In pilot studiesin San Francisco and Oakland, the instrument predicted drug use better than the CESD; scores wereshown highly related to DIS measures of depression. In the Oakland sample, scores were highly relatedto alcohol use and problem drinking. In Phase I, 271 male and female adult injectors will be recruitedfor a two-hour, two-session interview series. Following informed consent, a trained interviewer willadminister the WBDI, the Beck depression inventory, the CESD, the Marlowe-Crowne social desirabilityscale, and a demographic inventory. A licensed clinician will then conduct a DSM-lIl assessment, usingthe SCID. A random sample of 50 will be invited to return in one week; the first interview package willbe repeated to establish test-retest validation. Data analysis will determine test-retest reliability,concurrent validity using the DSM-III diagnosis as the standard, and the influences of social desirabilityand demographic characteristics. The instrument will be revised, using the results of an additional 30Ss, for formal field testing in Phase Il.