One of the principles of the SACS project was to create an instrument that was acceptable, easy to access and would be widely used. However, during the SACS development the consultation process revealed that agencies and clinicians may be deterred from using the SACS on account of the (mis)perception that exposure to the names of potential substances of abuse might increase young people's interest in drugs. To address this we created a community version of the SACS that does not list a wide range of substances.
- The SACSclinical (clinical version) prompts the young person about their use of a wide range of substances and provides spaces for them to record ‘other drug use’.
- The SACScommunity (community version) prompts the young person about their use of alcohol and cannabis only, but has spaces for the young person to record ‘other drug use’.
The clinical and community version of the SACS differ only in terms of the content of Section A. The SACS difficulties score (Section B) is the same in both versions thus the psychometric properties of each version are the same.
- We encourage use of the clinical version of the SACS -
SACS Information sheetHealth workers administering the SACS need to spend some time discussing the process with their clients including the reasons for completing the SACS, issues related to confidentiality and how information from it will be interpreted and used to plan and monitor treatment. The written information sheet provided can be attached to the SACS to assist with this, but it is not a substitute for provision of proper informed consent.
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.