Item banks for substance use from the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS^®): Severity of use and positive appeal of use

Background: Two item banks for substance use were developed as part of the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS^®): severity of substance use and positive appeal of substance use. Methods: Qualitative item analysis (including focus groups, cognitive interviewing, expert review, and item revision) reduced an initial pool of more than 5300 items for substance use to 119 items included in field testing. Items were written in a first-person, past-tense format, with 5 response options reflecting frequency or severity. Both 30-day and 3-month time frames were tested. The calibration sample of 1336 respondents included 875 individuals from the general population (ascertained through an internet panel) and 461 patients from addiction treatment centers participating in the National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network. Results: Final banks of 37 and 18 items were calibrated for severity of substance use and positive appeal of substance use, respectively, using the two-parameter graded response model from item response theory (IRT). Initial calibrations were similar for the 30-day and 3-month time frames, and final calibrations used data combined across the time frames, making the items applicable with either interval. Seven-item static short forms were also developed from each item bank. Conclusions: Test information curves showed that the PROMIS item banks provided substantial information in a broad range of severity, making them suitable for treatment, observational, and epidemiological research in both clinical and community settings.