[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 135 (Friday, July 13, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36796-36797]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-17535]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request

    In compliance with section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995 concerning opportunity for public comment on proposed 
collections of information, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health 
Services Administration will publish periodic summaries of proposed 
projects. To request more information on the proposed projects or to 
obtain a copy of the information collection plans, call the SAMHSA 
Reports Clearance Officer on (301) 443-7978.
    Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collections of 
information are necessary for the proper performance of the functions 
of the agency, including whether the information shall have practical 
utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed collection of information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, 
utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways 
to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, 
including through the use of automated collection techniques or other 
forms of information technology.
    Proposed Project: National Survey on Drug Use and Health Clinical 
Validation Study of the Substance Dependence and Abuse Measures--
(New)--The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's 
(SAMHSA) National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), formerly the 
National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, is a survey of the civilian, 
noninstitutionalized population of the United States 12 years old and 
older. The data are used to determine the prevalence of use of tobacco 
products, alcohol, illicit substances, and illicit use of prescription 
drugs. The results are used by SAMHSA, the Office of National Drug 
Control Policy, other Federal government agencies, and other 
organizations and researchers to establish policy, direct program 
activities, and better allocate resources.
    From 2001-2003, the NSDUH plans a two or three-phase Clinical 
Validation Study of Substance Dependence and Abuse Measures. Specific 
aims are to achieve the best overarching format, and the best wording 
and ordering for the assessment questions. The goal is quicker 
administration time, improved validity, and reduced respondent burden.
    Half of all subject will be between 12 and 17, and half 18 years of 
age or older; subjects will be recruited from the Research Triangle and 
the Triad areas of North Carolina. In Phase 1, subjects, recruited 
through fliers and newspaper ads, will be asked (1) demographic 
information and (2) questions from two self-administered sections of 
the NSDUH questionnaire: Questions about the quantity and frequency of 
use of drugs and alcohol, and questions about symptoms of substance 
dependence and abuse.
    A semi-structured clinical interview will then be administered to 
these same subjects by a trained clinician to determine the presence or 
absence of substance dependence and abuse. The clinical instruments 
used to assess subjects will be the substance abuse modules from the 
Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID) (for adults) and the 
Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia (K-SADS ) 
(for those between 12 and 17 years of age). The correspondence of the 
diagnosis of substance dependence and abuse between the clinical and 
survey interview will then be compared.
    Information from Phase 1 will then be used to assess if a lack of 
correspondence exists between the clinical and survey measures. If 
there is a lack of sufficient correspondence, we will then examine 
reasons for any lack of correspondence, and make decisions about how to 
modify the NSDUH questions on substance dependence and abuse to achieve 
better correspondence. This information will then be used to develop a 
revised NSDUH substance dependence and abuse module.
    In Phase 2, a second clinical validation study will be conducted 
using the same procedures as Phase 1. This will allow a determination 
of the correspondence (kappa) between the revised diagnosis obtained 
from the NSDUH substance dependence and abuse module and the diagnosis 
from the structured clinical interviews. Final revisions to the survey 
instrument will be made based on findings from Phase 2.
    Finally, if the revised NSDUH survey assessment of substance 
dependence and abuse still does not have sufficient correspondence with 
a structured clinical interview, overall, or for certain groups (for 
example, youth or marijuana users) or for certain criteria (withdrawal 
symptoms or substance abuse without dependence), then an additional 
phase of the study will be undertaken. Even if the overall 
correspondence from Phase 2 is good, for example, additional small 
validation studies might be conducted for specific groups (e.g., 
adolescent females, Hispanics) for whom there was not good 
correspondence as a result of small sample sizes or real differences in 
interpretation of the questionnaire items. All decisions about final 
revisions to the module will balance the need for correspondence across 
different groups.

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                                                     Number of     Responses per     Hours per     Total burden
                                                    respondents     respondent       response          hours
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                     Phase I
Screener only...................................              60               1             .08               5
Screener and Interview..........................             270               1            1.5              405
                    Phase II
Screener only...................................             100               1             .08               8
Screener and Interview..........................             455               1            1.5              683
                    Phase III
Screener only...................................             100               1             .08               8
Screener and Interview..........................             455               1            1.5              683
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.......................................           1,440  ..............  ..............           1,792
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[[Page 36797]]

    Send comments to Nancy Pearce, SAMHSA Reports Clearance Officer, 
Room 16-105, Parklawn Building, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20857. 
Written comments should be received within 60 days of this notice.

    Dated: July 9, 2001.
Richard Kopanda,
Executive Officer, SAMHSA.
[FR Doc. 01-17535 Filed 7-12-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4162-20-P