Development and Validation of Substance Use Alienation Scale for Youth

Abstract

The present study aimed to develop and validate a novel measure, the Substance Use Alienation Scale (SUAS), designed to assess alienation in individuals with substance use disorders (SUDs). Alienation is described as feelings of disconnection from oneself and others. Alienation is a critical aspect of substance use disorder because it intensifies the symptoms and creates hindrances in recovery (Alexander, 2008). The study was comprised of four stages: item generation, expert evaluation, testing, and administration to a sample of 217 SUD patients aged 15–29 receiving treatment at a rehabilitation center. The data showed important measurement features (p < .01); the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) value was 0.893, and Bartlett's test of sphericity was 2750.6, indicating that the data were suitable for factor analysis. Additionally, principal component analysis with varimax rotation revealed four factors. The factors were social withdrawal, social stigma sensitivity, social and emotional isolation, and social stereotyping. The SUAS is found reliable, as the alpha coefficient value was 0.91, and valid, as the correlation with the Juvenile Social Alienation Scale (Sana et al., 2023) is 0.65**. The SUAS has significant application in clinical practice as it helps practitioners to assess individuals who are at risk of relapses due to alienation, and hence they can improve the quality of life of the individuals with SUDs. Further studies should explore the efficacy of the SUAS in different contexts.