The Adult Pretrial Test, or APT, is designed to assess defendants accused of misdemeanors and/or felonies. The APT is appropriate for use in adult courts, probation departments, community corrections and adult defendant (misdemeanor and felony) assessment.

The APT measures the severity of illicit drug use and abuse, the severity of alcohol use and abuse, and substance (illicit drugs and alcohol) users are classified with DSM-IV criteria as abusers, dependent or non-pathological users. The Drugs and Alcohol Scales measure the severity of use or abuse; whereas, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-IV) criteria are used to classify drug and/or alcohol abuse. These drug and alcohol scales are very accurate measures. It's very rare to see both severity of use and DSM-IV classification in the same test. When dealing with substance (drug and alcohol) abuse, these are very important scales that make the APT uniquely advantageous.

At pretrial, it is important to screen and identify substance (alcohol and other drugs) abuse, antisocial thinking, violence (lethality) potential, and a defendant's stress handling abilities. The Adult Pretrial Test (APT) meets these needs.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice (1999)

57% of state prisoners and 45% of federal prisoners surveyed in 1997 said they had used drugs in the month before their offense, up from 50% and 32% in 1991.

In 1997, 33% of state and 22% of federal prisoners said they committed their current offense while under the influence of drugs, compared to 31% and 17% in 1991.

According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics' substance abuse report, about three-quarters of all prisoners were involved with alcohol and/or drugs in the time leading up to their current arrest.

"Increasingly, defense attorneys are finding themselves defending clients for whom the ingestion of alcohol and a wide variety of other drugs plays a significant role in their lives and, by consequence, plays an equally important role in their defense" (Stephan J. Levy, Ph.D. and Steven S. Kipnis, M.D., 1999).

Defendants are charged with a variety of crimes, and many use, abuse or are addicted to alcohol and other illicit drugs. Experts that understand this situation screen for alcohol and other drug use or abuse. Accurate screening helps provide attorneys, prosecutors and judges with a clear picture of each defendant's substance use and abuse. The Adult Pretrial Test’s (APT's) Alcohol and Drugs Scales identify the severity of substance use and abuse. This helps distinguish between "recreational use," "abuse" and "dependency." It is also important to understand the defendant’s profile -- that encompasses antisocial attitudes, violence (lethality) potential and stress handling abilities. Stress exacerbates emotional and mental health symptomatology.

The Adult Pretrial Test is particularly appropriate because the Substance Abuse/Dependency Scale is solidly based upon DSM-IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition) symptomatology and criteria.  In addition, scale-related recommendations are ASAM (American Society of Addiction Medicine) compatible.  ASAM presents patient placement criteria for the treatment of Substance-Related Disorders

A Stress Coping Abilities Scale score at the 90^th percentile or above strongly indicates the presence of an identifiable mental health (DSM-IV) problem, and these defendants might be referred for a psychological evaluation to diagnose the problem and provide a written treatment plan. It’s an understatement to say a wide variety of emotional and mental disorders can predate and coexist with substance abuse.

Adult Pretrial Test scales (measures) represent criminogenic needs, which are important in measuring problem severity and recidivism prediction.

If you’re looking for a reliable, valid and accurate test for adult defendants, we recommend you consider the Adult Pretrial Test (APT). It consists of 162 items, can be completed in 35 minutes, and is computer-scored on-site with reports printed within 2½ minutes.

Reference

The Use of Clinical Assessments in Understanding Alcohol and Other Drug-Related Crimes. (January 1999). Internet 2002