The SACS has been tested in 13-18 year old males and females from a variety of ethnicities. It has very good reliability and validity, and can measure change over time. Young people report that it is easy to complete and not distressing. Clinicians have been complementary about its ease of use and scoring.
- The SACS Clinician Guide provides information about how to score and interpret the SACS.
- The SACS Testing Overview is a brief summary of the development and testing of the SACS and results of psychometric testing.
- The SACS Manual provides more in-depth information about the development and testing of the SACS and provides recommendations about how it should be used with young people.
Disclaimer - The Substances and Choices Scale (SACS) is available for use by researchers and not-for-profit health agencies that provide services to enhance the health and well-being of young people. It has been designed to be only used by health professionals who have an active and ongoing relationship with the recipient of the questionnaire. This is so that issues around confidentiality can be discussed, and so that appropriate mental health support can be accessed if required. ALAC and those involved in developing the SACS do not accept any responsibility or liability for any direct or indirect loss, problems or consequences of any kind arising from the use or misuse of the SACS.
Copyright - The different versions of the Substances and Choices Scale and its associated documents are copyrighted documents. The SACS may be used without charge by non-profit organizations as long as clients are not charged for its use. Electronic reproductions of the SACS are permitted if the content remains identical and formatting is similar to the paper version. Please note however that the SACS is validated as a pen and paper questionnaire only.