Validity and reliability of the Severity of Dependence Scale (SDS) in a Brazilian sample of drug users

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
The Severity of Dependence Scale (SDS) is a short, five‐item scale which provides a measure of degree of dependence upon different drugs. The present study explores the validity and reliability of a Portuguese version of the instrument with a sample of 374 Brazilian drug users. Concurrent validity of the SDS was assessed in relation to reported quantity of drugs used and to DSM‐IV dependence items, and test‐retest reliability was assessed with a subsample of 42 subjects. The SDS total scores for powder cocaine, crack cocaine, cannabis and alcohol were significantly and highly positively correlated with severity of dependence as measured by DSM‐IV, and with the estimated quantity of drugs used in the last month. Test‐retest coefficients were high for all drugs studied. Principal components analysis showed that the SDS scores lie on a single dimension with the exception of crack cocaine where scores lie on a single dimension for treatment attenders and on two dimensions for community samples. The results indicate that the Portuguese version of the SDS is a valid research tool for measuring severity of dependence upon powder cocaine (snorted), crack cocaine (smoked), cannabis and alcohol.