Screening and Assessment of Co-Occurring Disorders in the Justice ...

Concerns•y The instruments were validated for use in a general health survey context,and it is unclear to what extent it may be useful in other populations.However, preliminary studies indicate that this measure is useful incriminal justice settings (Swartz & Lurigio, 2005)Availability and CostThe K6 and K10 scales are available at no charge at http://www.hcp.med.harvard.edu/ncs/ftpdir/k6/K6+self%20admin-3-05-%20FINAL.pdf. Information regardingscoring, cutoff scores, and validation research are available at http://www.hcp.med.harvard.edu/ncs/k6_scales.php.The Mental Health Screening Form-III (MHSF-III)The MHSF-III was designed as an initial psychological screening for use withclients entering substance abuse treatment programs. The 18-item measurecontains yes/no questions examining current and past mental health symptoms.Positive responses indicate the possibility of a current problem and should befollowed up by questions regarding the duration, intensity, and co-occurrence ofsymptoms. The following disorders are addressed in the MHSF-III: schizophrenia,depressive disorders, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), phobias, intermittentexplosive disorder, delusional disorder, sexual and gender identity disorders,eating disorders, manic episode, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder,pathological gambling, learning disorders, and mental retardation. The preferredmode of administration is via interview, although the instrument can also beself-administered. A qualified mental health professional should review responsesto determine whether a follow-up assessment and/or diagnostic workup andtreatment recommendations are needed.Positive Features•y Preliminary research with the MHSF-III indicate that it has excellentcontent validity and adequate test-retest reliability and construct validity(Carroll & McGinley, 2001)•y The instrument is quite brief to administer, requiring approximately 15minutes•y The instrument was designed to use with individuals who have co-occurringsubstance abuse problems•y English and Spanish versions of the MHSF-III are availableConcerns•y The reliability and validity studies were conducted in a single agency andwith only a modest sample size•y Since the MHSF-III continues to undergo testing and validation, there isonly a moderate amount of published research on this instrument67