Korean Version of the Revised Problem-Oriented Screening Instrument for Teenagers Substance Use/Abuse Scale: A Validation Study

ABSTRACT

The objective of this study is to validate the Korean version of the revised Problem-Oriented Screening Instrument for Teenagers (POSIT) substance use/abuse scale for measuring adolescent substance abuse problems. The Korean version of the revised POSIT was validated with a sample of 1,051 students in grades 7–12 in Korea. Exploratory factor analysis identified that the Korean version of the revised POSIT is a unidimensional screening instrument similar to the English version. The Korean version of the revised POSIT showed high internal consistency reliability and good convergent validity and demonstrated optimal performance at a cut-off score of 1, which was the score recommended by its developer. The Korean version of the revised POSIT is a reliable and valid instrument for measuring Korean adolescent substance abuse. However, validation with clinical samples is needed to improve its ability to correctly capture substance-abusing adolescents.