Psychometric Synthesis of the Drug Abuse Screening Test (DAST) Versions

DOI

10.1080/07481756.2024.2399199

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

1-1-2025

Publication Title

Measurement and Evaluation in Counseling and Development

Volume

58

Issue

1

First Page

83

Last Page

96

ISSN

7481756

Keywords

DAST, Drug Abuse Screening Test, psychometric synthesis

Abstract

Problem Statement: Among individuals aged 12 years or older, 14.3% (40.0 million) reporting the use of an illicit drug in the previous year. Given the prevalence of drug abuse, it is increasingly important to determine effective screening practices, treatment procedures, and best practices among various subpopulations to identify drug use-related consequences. The DAST is one of the most commonly used and accurate drug screening tests. Method: This psychometric synthesis of four versions of the Drug Abuse Screening Test (DAST-10, DAST-20, DAST-28, DAST-A) provided aggregated evidence from 346 articles over 40 years of published literature for score reliability, structure, diagnostic, and convergent validity, and descriptive statistics, all with the goal of informing counseling and medical practice and research. Results: Results indicated adequate internal consistency (α = 0.81–0.84 across all four versions) and mostly medium to large effect size convergent correlations with comparison measures. Aggregated diagnostic validity data indicate optimal cutoff scores of 7 for DAST-10, 8 for DAST-20, 10 for DAST-28, and 6 for DAST-A. Discussion: The DAST-10 appears the best choice for practical and psychometric reasons. Additional studies of the various DAST versions are needed to expand use across participant demographics. Public Statement of Relevance: Drug use continues to be a societal problem and mental health practitioners need effective screening practices, treatment procedures, and best practices among various subpopulations to identify drug use-related consequences. This study synthesized 40 years of research on the four versions of the Drug Abuse Screening Test (DAST-10, DAST-20, DAST-28, DAST-A) and found acceptable levels of score reliability and validity for screening purposes.

Open Access

Hybrid_Gold

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