SOCRATES is an experimental instrument designed to assess readiness for change in alcohol abusers.

Motivation for change is an important predictor of treatment compliance and eventual outcome. SOCRATES has been found to be an important predictor of long-term alcohol treatment outcome

Miller, William R

Tonigan, JS

National Documentation Centre on Drug Use

Version 8 SOCRATESThe Stages of Change Readiness and Treatment Eagerness ScaleSOCRATES is an experimental instrument designed to assess readiness for change in alcohol abusers.  The instrumentyields three factorially-derived scale scores: Recognition (Re), Ambivalence (Am), and Taking Steps (Ts).   It is a publicdomain instrument and may be used without special permission.Answers are to be recorded directly on the questionnaire form.  Scoring is accomplished by transferring to theSOCRATES Scoring Form the numbers circled by the respondent for each item.  The sum of each column yields thethree scale scores.  Data entry screens and scoring routines are available.These instruments are provided for research uses only.  Version 8 is a reduced 19-item scale based on factor analyseswith prior versions.  The shorter form was developed using the items that most strongly marked each factor.  The 19-itemscale scores are highly related to the longer (39 item) scale for Recognition (r = .96), Taking Steps (.94), and Ambivalence(.88).  We therefore currently recommend using the 19-item Version 8 instrument.Psychometric analyses revealed the following psychometric characteristics of the 19-item SOCRATES:Cronbach    Test-retest ReliabilityAlpha Intraclass PearsonAmbivalence .60 - .88 .82 .83Recognition .85 - .95 .88 .94Taking Steps .83 - .96 .91 .93Various other forms of the SOCRATES have been developed.  These will be migrated into shorter 8.0 versions aspsychometric studies are completed.  They are:8D 19-item drug/alcohol questionnaire for clients7A-SO-M 32-item alcohol questionnaire for significant others of males7A-SO-F 32-item alcohol questionnaire for SOs of females7D-SO-F 32-item drug/alcohol questionnaire for SOs of females7D-SO-M 32-item drug/alcohol questionnaire for SOs of malesThe parallel SO forms are designed to assess the motivation for change of significant others (not collateral estimates ofclients' motivation).   The SO forms lack a Maintenance scale, and therefore are 32 items in length.Prochaska and DiClemente have developed a more general stages of change measure known as the University of RhodeIsland Change Assessment (URICA).  The SOCRATES differs from the URICA in that SOCRATES poses questionsspecifically about alcohol or other drug use, whereas URICA asks about the client's “problem” and change in a moregeneral manner.Source Citation:Miller, W. R., & Tonigan, J. S. (1996).  Assessing drinkers' motivation for change: The Stages of Change Readinessand Treatment Eagerness Scale (SOCRATES).  Psychology of Addictive Behaviors 10, 81-89. CASAA Research Division*8/95Personal Drinking Questionnaire (SOCRATES 8A)INSTRUCTIONS: Please read the following statements carefully.  Each one describes a way thatyou might (or might not) feel about your drinking.  For each statement, circle one number from 1 to 5, toindicate how much you agree or disagree with it right now.  Please circle one and only one number forevery statement.    NO!StronglyDisagree    NoDisagree      ?  Undecided orUnsure  Yes  Agree   YES!Strongly Agree1. I really want to make changes in mydrinking.    1     2     3     4    52. Sometimes I wonder if I am an alcoholic.     1     2     3     4    53. If I don't change my drinking soon, myproblems are going to get worse.    1     2     3     4    54. I have already started making some changesin my drinking.    1     2     3     4    55. I was drinking too much at one time, butI've managed to change my drinking.    1     2     3     4    56. Sometimes I wonder if my drinking ishurting other people.    1     2     3     4    57. I am a problem drinker.                              1     2     3     4    58. I'm not just thinking about changing mydrinking, I'm already doing something aboutit.    1     2     3     4    59. I have already changed my drinking, and Iam looking for ways to keep from slippingback to my old pattern.    1     2     3     4    510. I have serious problems with drinking.     1     2     3     4    5    NO!StronglyDisagree    NoDisagree      ?  Undecided orUnsure  Yes  Agree   YES!Strongly Agree11. Sometimes I wonder if I am in control ofmy drinking.    1     2     3     4    512.  My drinking is causing a lot of harm.     1     2     3     4    513. I am actively doing things now to cut downor stop drinking.    1     2     3     4    514. I want help to keep from going back to thedrinking problems that I had before.    1     2     3     4    515. I know that I have a drinking problem.                                 1     2     3     4    516. There are times when I wonder if I drinktoo much.    1     2     3     4    517. I am an alcoholic.     1     2     3     4    518. I am working hard to change my drinking.     1     2     3     4    519. I have made some changes in my drinking,and I want some help to keep from going backto the way I used to drink.    1     2     3     4    5CASAA Research Division*9/95Personal Drug Use Questionnaire (SOCRATES 8D)INSTRUCTIONS: Please read the following statements carefully.  Each one describes a way thatyou might (or might not) feel about your drug use.  For each statement, circle one number from 1 to 5,to indicate how much you agree or disagree with it right now.  Please circle one and only one numberfor every statement.    NO!StronglyDisagree    NoDisagree      ?  Undecided orUnsure  Yes  Agree   YES!Strongly Agree1. I really want to make changes in my use ofdrugs.    1     2     3     4    52. Sometimes I wonder if I am an addict.     1     2     3     4    53. If I don't change my drug use soon, myproblems are going to get worse.    1     2     3     4    54. I have already started making some changesin my use of drugs.    1     2     3     4    55. I was using drugs too much at one time, butI've managed to change that.    1     2     3     4    56. Sometimes I wonder if my drug use ishurting other people.    1     2     3     4    57. I have a drug problem.           1     2     3     4    58. I'm not just thinking about changing mydrug use, I'm already doing something aboutit.    1     2     3     4    59. I have already changed my drug use, and Iam looking for ways to keep from slippingback to my old pattern.    1     2     3     4    510. I have serious problems with drugs.     1     2     3     4    5    NO!StronglyDisagree    NoDisagree      ?  Undecided orUnsure  Yes  Agree   YES!Strongly Agree11. Sometimes I wonder if I am in control ofmy drug use.    1     2     3     4    512.  My drug use is causing a lot of harm.     1     2     3     4    513. I am actively doing things now to cut downor stop my use of drugs.    1     2     3     4    514. I want help to keep from going back to thedrug problems that I had before.    1     2     3     4    515. I know that I have a drug problem.                                 1     2     3     4    516. There are times when I wonder if I usedrugs too much.    1     2     3     4    517. I am a drug addict.     1     2     3     4    518. I am working hard to change my drug use.     1     2     3     4    519. I have made some changes in my drug use,and I want some help to keep from going backto the way I used before.    1     2     3     4    5SOCRATES Scoring Form - 19-Item Versions 8.0Transfer the client's answers from questionnaire (see note below):Recognition Ambivalence Taking Steps  1  ______   2 ______     3  ______   4 ______ 5 ______ 6 ______  7  ______    8 ______   9 ______  10 ______ 11 ______  12 ______ 13 ______14 ______  15 ______ 16 ______  17 ______ 18 ______19 ______TOTALS Re________ Am_______ Ts________Possible Range: 7-35 4-20 8-40------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------SOCRATES Profile Sheet (19-Item Version 8A)INSTRUCTIONS:  From the SOCRATES Scoring Form (19-Item Version) transfer the total scalescores into the empty boxes at the bottom of the Profile Sheet.  Then for each scale, CIRCLE thesame value above it to determine the decile range.  DECILESCORESRecognition Ambivalence Taking Steps90 VeryHigh19-20 39-4080 18 37-3870 High 35 17 3660 34 16 34-3550 Medium 32-33 15 33 40 31 14 31-3230 Low 29-30 12-13 3020 27-28 9-11 26-2910  Very Low 7-26 4-8 8 - 25RAWSCORES(fromScoringSheet)Re= Am= Ts=These interpretive ranges are based on a sample of 1,726 adult men and women presenting fortreatment of alcohol problems through Project MATCH.  Note that individual scores aretherefore being ranked as low, medium, or high relative to people already presenting for alcohol treatment.Guidelines for Interpretation of SOCRATES-8 ScoresUsing the SOCRATES Profile Sheet, circle the client’s raw score within each of the three scalecolumns.  This provides information as to whether the client’s scores are low, average, or high relativeto people already seeking treatment for alcohol problems.  The following are provided as general guidelinesfor interpretation of scores, but it is wise in an individual case also to examine individual itemresponses for additional information.RECOGNITIONHIGH scorers directly acknowledge that they are having problems related to their drinking,tending to express a desire for change and to perceive that harm will continue if they do notchange.LOW scorers deny that alcohol is causing them serious problems, reject diagnostic labels suchas “problem drinker” and “alcoholic,” and do not express a desire for change.AMBIVALENCEHIGH scorers say that they sometimes wonder if they are in control of their drinking, aredrinking too much, are hurting other people, and/or are alcoholic.  Thus a high score reflectsambivalence or uncertainty.  A high score here reflects some openness to reflection, as mightbe particularly expected in the contemplation stage of change.LOW scorers say that they do not wonder whether they drink too much, are in control, arehurting others, or are alcoholic.  Note that a person may score low on ambialence eitherbecause they “know” their drinking is causing problems (high Recognition), or because they“know” that they do not have drinking problems (low Recognition).  Thus a low Ambivalencescore should be interpreted in relation to the Recognition score.  TAKING STEPSHIGH scorers report that they are already doing things to make a positive change in theirdrinking, and may have experienced some success in this regard.  Change is underway, andthey may want help to persist or to prevent backsliding.  A high score on this scale has beenfound to be predictive of successful change.LOW scorers report that they are not currently doing things to change their drinking, and havenot made such changes recently.  

Stages of Change Readiness and Treatment Eagerness Scale - v. 8 -- Alcohol. Outcomes measurement tool: drug use behaviour - substance use / maintenance / relapse.

https://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/26826/1/socratesv8.pdf

Stages of Change Readiness and Treatment Eagerness Scale - v. 8 -- Alcohol. Outcomes measurement tool: drug use behaviour - substance use / maintenance / relapse.

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National Documentation Centre on Drug Use