Screening and Brief Intervention With Low-Income Youth in Community-Based Settings

We described screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT) results and assessed whether SBIRT is associated with positive changes in substance use, risky use, and educational/employment outcomes for youth in community-based settings that are not healthcare focused.

YouthBuild USA serves youth of ages 16-24 who are neither in school nor employed. In an SBIRT intervention, youth completed substance use surveys and Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test and Drug Abuse Screening Test screenings at entry and program completion. Staff reported on services provided in response to screening scores. Regression models compared changes in youth screening results and substance use from intake to follow-up and, with aggregate program-level data, youth outcomes across programs with and without the SBIRT intervention.

Youth significantly reduced Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (3.1 vs. 2.3, p < .001) and Drug Abuse Screening Test (1.9 vs. 1.4, p < .001) scores, positive screens (64% vs. 54%, p < .001), and need for referrals to treatment (48% vs. 37%, p < .001), indicating less risky substance use, although self-reports of substance use in the past 30 days did not decrease. Proportionately more youth in SBIRT programs attained a high school diploma or equivalent (49% vs. 42%, p = .01) and were still in educational/job placements 3 months after program completion (67% vs. 59%, p = .02), compared to youth in non-SBIRT programs.

These findings suggest that community-based SBIRT is associated with positive outcomes-both reduced risky substance use and improved education and employment-that relate to longer-term positive development for youth. SBIRT appears to be an evidence-based approach to intervene and help youth.