Description

The Drug Abstinence Self-Efficacy Scales are a psychometric tool designed to assess individuals’ belief in their ability to abstain from drug use in various situations. Self-efficacy is an individual’s belief in their capacity to achieve a specific goal, in this case, maintaining abstinence from drugs.

Analysis

The Drug Abstinence Self-Efficacy Scales include questions that cover the following dimensions:
Social Pressure: Questions that evaluate the individual’s ability to resist drug use under social pressure from friends, family, or colleagues.
Negative Emotions: Questions that examine the individual’s ability to manage negative emotions, such as anxiety, depression, or anger, without resorting to drug use.
Positive Emotions: Assessment of the individual’s ability to remain abstinent from drugs even when feeling happy or celebrating.
High-Risk Situations and Cues: Questions that assess the individual’s ability to avoid or cope with situations that typically trigger the desire to use drugs.

Purpose

The main goals of the Drug Abstinence Self-Efficacy Scales are:
Assessment of Self-Efficacy: To measure the individual’s self-efficacy in various drug-related situations.
Support for Cessation: To identify areas where the individual may need additional support or reinforcement of self-efficacy.
Provision of Data for Interventions: To provide data for designing and tailoring interventions aimed at improving self-efficacy and the ability to maintain abstinence.
Monitoring Progress: To be used in tracking the individual’s progress throughout treatment or intervention.

Scoring

Scoring of the Drug Abstinence Self-Efficacy Scales is based on the individual’s responses to each question, which are typically rated on a Likert scale (e.g., from “Not at all confident” to “Very confident”). The overall score is derived from summing the responses to the questions related to each dimension. Scores are used to determine the individual’s general self-efficacy and to identify areas where additional support may be required.

References

Bandura, A. Self-Efficacy: The Exercise of Control. W.H. Freeman. 1997.
DiClemente, C.C., Carbonari, J.P., Montgomery, R.P., & Hughes, S.O. The Alcohol Abstinence Self-Efficacy Scale. Journal of Studies on Alcohol. 1994; 55(2):141–148.
Marlatt, G.A., Baer, J.S., & Quigley, L.A. Self-efficacy and addictive behavior. In: Self-Efficacy in Changing Societies (Bandura, A., ed.). Cambridge University Press. 1995.
Rollnick, S., & Miller, W.R. What is motivational interviewing? Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy. 1995; 23(4):325–334.
Cummings, C., Gordon, J.R., & Marlatt, G.A. Relapse: Prevention and Prediction. In: Treating Addictive Behaviors (Marlatt, G.A., & Gordon, J.R., eds.). Plenum Press. 1985.