The Problem Oriented Screening Instrument for Teenagers (POSIT) is a brief screening tool designed for adolescents 12 through 19 years of age to identify problems requiring subsequent in-depth assessment. It also can help determine a potential need for treatment. The self-report questionnaire assesses ten functional areas:

• Substance Use/Abuse
• Physical Health
• Mental Health
• Family relationships
• Peer relationships
• Educational Status
• Vocational Status
• Social Skills
• Leisure and Recreation
• Aggressive Behavior/Delinquency.

As a brief problem screen, the POSIT can be used in a wide variety of settings, including inpatient and outpatient programs, various case management systems and with special populations. It can be used by staff from schools, juvenile justice systems, and mental health and drug treatment programs to gather case-level data for clinical decisions and/or aggregate data for needs-assessment surveys. The POSIT is designed for use with the POSIT Follow-up and POSIP (parental version of the POSIT) screening instruments.

The POSIT consists of 139 yes/no items and is appropriate for adolescents with at least a 4/5th grade reading level, and can be completed in 20 to 25 minutes. No special training is required to administer the POSIT.

Notes: by Elizabeth Rahdert, Ph.D., National Institute on Drug Abuse