Development of the Significant Other Survey: An Interview for Family Members of Substance Users

The Significant Other Survey (SOS) is a semi-structured interview designed to measure the multidimensional problems experienced by family members with a substance abusing loved one. This article describes the development of the SOS and its psychometric properties based on data obtained from significant others of 110 substance abusing adults. Interrater and test-retest reliability estimates were within acceptable ranges, adequate internal consistency was demonstrated for six of seven problem domains, and the problem domains were low to moderately correlated with each other. Issues related to future instrument development and the utility of the SOS for both family practitioners and researchers are described.

This research was funded by grant DA12720 from the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The authors would like to acknowledge the contributions of Heather Haberle, Janear Sewell, Julie Wosak, Terredell Burrows, Pilar Gonzales, Jennifer Gutierrez, Shannon Mason, and Renee Schwartz. Thanks also to Temple University's Counseling Psychology Program and Rehab after Work for providing office space to conduct SOS interviews.

Notes

¹Citations associated with each of these measures are provided in the reference list and marked with an “*”.

* = p < .05;

** = p < .01;

*** = p < .001.