Uncope: A Screen for Substance Dependence among State Prison Inmates

Abstract

Efficient and accurate screening for alcohol and other drug dependences is critical if addictions are to be addressed in correctional populations. The UNCOPE, a six-item screen developed on clinical and corrections populations, was evaluated for accuracy in a state inmate population. Results using receiver operating characteristics calculated the overall expected accuracy of the UNCOPE to approach 0.90, with 1.0 being a perfect prediction. The UNCOPE performed comparably on gender and ethnic subgroups as well as subgroups identified by education level. The findings suggest that the UNCOPE could be an effective aid in identifying treatment needs among state prison inmates.