NCJ Number
164780
Journal
Journal of Child and Adolescent Substance Abuse Volume: 5 Issue: 1 Dated: (1996) Pages: 73-91
Date Published
1996
Length
19 pages
Annotation
The Problem Recognition Questionnaire (PRQ), a 24-item measure of adolescent motivation for drug use change and readiness for treatment, was examined with respect to its reliability, factor structure, and predictive validity.
Abstract
Participants included 234 adolescents who resided in the greater Twin Cities metropolitan area and were admitted for residential or nonresidential status in a chemical dependency treatment program from early 1991 through August 1993. The PRQ is a self-report questionnaire that was administered as a standard part of the study intake battery. The PRQ assesses adolescent perception of the seriousness of alcohol or drug involvement and motivation to undergo treatment. The 27 PRQ items were an adaptation and extension of an adult measure of alcoholic denial developed by Owen (1984). After an initial sample was subjected to an internal consistency analysis, the 27-item scale was reduced to 24 items. PRQ items are formatted on a 4-point scale that consists of strongly disagree, disagree, strongly agree, and agree. The PRQ showed a high level of internal consistency (alpha = .91). Three factors were derived and interpreted as representative of the stages of change proposed by Prochaska, DiClemente, and Norcross (1992). Outcome was measured at discharge and 6-month follow-up. High scores on the PRQ (representing a higher level of motivation/readiness) were predictive of some posttreatment variables (change in drug use and abstinence), but not the discharge variables. These results indicate that the PRQ has acceptable reliability and some potential as a prognostic indicator for adolescent drug abuse treatment outcome. 3 tables and 38 references