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Development, Validation, and Utility of Internet-Based, Behavioral Health Screen for Adolescents
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Development, Validation, and Utility of Internet-Based, Behavioral Health Screen for Adolescents

Guy Diamond, Suzanne Levy, Katherine B. Bevans, Joel A. Fein, Matthew B. Wintersteen, Allen Tien and Torrey Creed
Pediatrics (Evanston), v 126(1), pp E163-E170
01 Jul 2010
PMID: 20566613

Abstract

Life Sciences & Biomedicine Pediatrics Science & Technology
OBJECTIVES: The goals were to develop and to validate the Internetbased, Behavioral Health Screen (BHS) for adolescents and young adults in primary care. METHODS: Items assessing risk behaviors and psychiatric symptoms were built into a Internet-based platform with broad functionality. Practicality and acceptability were examined with 24 patients. For psychometric validation, 415 adolescents completed the BHS and well-established rating scales. Participants recruited from primary care waiting rooms were 12 to 21 years of age (mean: 15.8 years); 66.5% were female and 77.5% black. RESULTS: The BHS screens in 13 domains by using 54 required items and 39 follow-up items. The administration time was 8 to 15 minutes (mean: 12.4 minutes). The scales are unidimensional, are internally consistent (Cronbach's alpha = 0.75-0.87), and discriminate among adolescents with a range of diagnostic syndromes. Sensitivity and specificity were high, with overall accuracy ranging from 78% to 85%. Patients with scores above scale cutoff values for depression, suicide risk, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms were >= 4 times more likely to endorse other risk behaviors or stressors. CONCLUSIONS: The BHS addresses practical and clinical barriers to behavioral health screening in primary care. It is a brief but comprehensive, self-report, biopsychosocial assessment. The psychiatric scales are valid and predictive of risk behaviors, which facilitates exclusion of false-positive results, as well as assessment and triage. Pediatrics 2010; 126: e163-e170

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Pediatrics
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