Psychometric properties of a Spanish-language version of the Short Inventory of Problems.
Hispanic Americans are substantially underrepresented in clinical and research samples for substance use treatment, with language cited as one of the major barriers to their participation, indicating a need for more validated assessments in Spanish. This study evaluated the psychometric properties of a Spanish version of the Short Inventory of Problems (SIP), used in a multisite, randomized trial conducted for Spanish-speaking substance users, National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network protocol CTN-0021. The sample included 405 Spanish-speaking treatment seekers, mostly male (88%) and legally mandated to treatment (71%). The Spanish version of the revised SIP (SIP-RS), as well as other commonly used assessment measures translated into Spanish, were administered at baseline and at the end of treatment. Internal consistency was excellent and construct validity was supported through correlations with composite scores from the Addiction Severity Index (ASI) and through differential SIP-RS scores according to diagnostic criteria. The SIP-RS also demonstrated an association with substance use and treatment retention, with higher baseline scores associated with significantly less abstinence during treatment and fewer days retained in treatment. However, the latter association was moderate by participants’ legal status.
Conclusions: This Spanish-translated version of the SIP (SIP-RS) appears to be a reliable and valid assessment of adverse consequences associated with alcohol and drug use, with psychometric properties comparable with the English version. This assessment may prove to be a useful outcome measure for evaluating the efficacy of treatments for substance use disorders, and it may have the potential to identify individuals at risk for early treatment drop-out. Given the growing population of Hispanics in the United States with limited English proficiency, greater effort should be placed toward validating substance abuse assessment instruments for Spanish-speakers, with a particular focus on diverse Hispanic populations.
Related protocols: CTN-0021