Texas Christian University (TCU) Short Forms for Assessing Client Needs and Functioning in Addiction Treatment

Abstract

The TCU Short Forms contain a revised and expanded set of assessments for planning and managing addiction treatment services. They are formatted as brief (one-page) forms to measure client needs and functioning, including drug use severity and history (TCUDS II), criminal thinking and cognitive orientation (CTSForm), motivation and readiness for treatment (MOTForm), psychological functioning (PSYForm), social relations and functioning (SOCForm), and therapeutic participation and engagement (ENGForm). These instruments facilitate optically scanned data entry, computerized scoring, and rapid graphical feedback for clinical decisions. The present study (based on 5,022 inmates from eight residential prison treatment programs) examines evidence on scale reliabilities and measurement structures of these tools. Results confirmed their integrity and usefulness as indicators of individual and group-level therapeutic dynamics.

KEYWORDS:

• brief assessments
• criminal thinking
• drug use severity
• optical scoring
• prison-based treatment
• psychological functioning
• social functioning
• TCU Treatment Process Model
• treatment engagement
• treatment motivation and readiness

Acknowledgments

This program of research has been funded primarily under a series of grants to Texas Christian University (R37DA13093, D. D. Simpson, Principal Investigator, and R01DA025885, W. E. K. Lehman, Principal Investigator) from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health (NIDA/NIH). The research protocol was approved by the Missouri Department of Corrections and Texas Department of Criminal Justice, and was conducted in cooperation with Gateway Foundation. Interpretations and conclusions, however, are entirely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the position of the NIDA, NIH, or Department of Health and Human Services. TCU Short Forms and related user guides are available from the IBR Web site at www.ibr.tcu.edu. Assessment forms, intervention manuals, and other addiction treatment resources can be downloaded and used without cost in nonprofit applications.

Notes

^a Coefficient alpha reliabilities are calculated based on total covariance matrix (total) and within (within) covariance matrix.

Note. N ∼ 2,450 for Time 3 and N ∼ 1,870 for Time 4.

*p < .05. **p < .0001.

A supplementary set of these new forms that focus on other indicators (e.g., trauma, mental, and physical health) have also been developed, and are examined in other articles included in this special volume (see Rowan-Szal et al., 2012 and Pankow et al., 2012 in this volume).