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Abstract: The Cannabis Abuse Screening Test (CAST) aims at screening the problematic use of cannabis. It has never been validated against the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)‐5 and its relationships with this latter have never been studied. We used a probabilistic telephone survey collected in 2014 (1351 past‐year cannabis users aged 15–64) implementing the CAST and a DSM‐5 adaptation of the Munich Composite International Diagnostic Interview assessing cannabis use disorders. Data were weighted, and CAST items were considered categorical. Factorial structures were assessed with confirmatory factor analyses; the relationships between the instruments were studied with multiple factor analysis (MFA). One factor for the DSM‐5 and two correlated factors for the CAST were the best confirmatory factor analyses solutions. The CAST thresholds for screening moderate/severe and severe cannabis use disorders were 5 (sensitivity = 78.2% and specificity = 79.6%) and 8 (sensitivity = 86.0% and specificity = 86.7%), respectively. The MFA identified two orthogonal dimensions: The first was equally shared by both instruments; the second was the second CAST dimension (extreme frequencies of use before midday and alone, memory problems, and reproaches from friends/family). The CAST structure and screening properties were confirmed. The MFA explains its screening performances by its first dimension and identified the problematic patterns (the second dimension) that are not captured by the DSM‐5. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Defensible use of self-reported cannabis use problem scales in age comparative frameworks requires that measured constructs have equal psychometric properties across age groups. This study compares the psychometric properties of the Cannabis Abuse Screening Test (CAST) across three age groups (18-24, 25-29, 30-40). Data was collected online from an accessible sample of 1316 cannabis users. Factor analysis compared the optimal factor structure and dimensionality diffraction. Multi-group Model Invariance tests examined measurement invariance across the three age groups. CAST was two-dimensional in all age groups with one factor measuring cannabis use problems and the other measuring deviation from a common standard of use. The two-dimensional structure was more pronounced in older age groups. Weak factorial invariance was supported, suggesting that the meaning of the CAST factors is equivalent across age groups. Partial, but not full, strong factorial invariance was supported, indicating that only the cannabis use problem factor can be defensibly used to measure age group mean differences. Results confirm a well-defined two-dimensional CAST structure and factorial invariance across age groups. However, caution is needed when using the two items measuring deviation from a common standard in an age-comparative framework. Replication studies based on a representative sample are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our aims are to describe and explain the structure of the Cannabis Abuse Screening Test (CAST) across countries. Standard statistical analyses fail to describe and explain several variables simultaneously while taking account of the group structure of individuals. The 2011 European School Survey Project on Alcohol and other Drugs (ESPAD): 5204 last-year cannabis users aged 15-16 from 13 European countries. Multigroup principal component analysis (mgPCA) and multigroup partial least squares (mgPLS). MgPCA shows that the CAST has a two-dimensional structure (frequency of use/problems and non-recreational use/dependency symptoms). All the countries present a good concordance with the common structure, except Kosovo, Lichtenstein and Romania. MgPLS shows that three explanative variables (in a total of eight) are mainly related with the CAST (the frequencies of cannabis use in the last 12 months and in the last 30 days and the age at first cannabis use) while Kosovo, Lichtenstein and Romania also present specificities. The CAST structure appears stable in the 13 countries except for Kosovo, Lichtenstein and Romania that also show specific relationships between the CAST variables and their determinants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the DSM-IV latent structure of cannabis users (especially its invariance towards gender and age) and assesses the psychometric properties of the Cannabis Abuse Screening Test (CAST) by confrontation with the theoretical diagnoses [dependence and cannabis use disorders (CUD)] and the latent class structure of the DSM-IV. The random sample comprised 550 French cannabis smokers aged 15-62 years interviewed by telephone. DSM-IV diagnoses were assessed with the Munich Composite International Diagnostic Interview. Internal structures of both instruments were assessed using factor analysis and latent class analysis. Optimal CAST cutoffs were determined by sensitivity, specificity and area under the receiver operating curve (AUC). CAST and DSM-IV were unidimensional (Cronbach's α = 0.742 and 0.752, respectively), although a two-factor solution showed a better fit for the CAST. CAST cutoffs for screening CUD and dependence were three (AUC = 0.851) and five (AUC = 0.868), respectively. DSM-IV latent class structure varied only marginally in age and gender. Three classes of cannabis smokers were determined, ordered along a continuum of symptoms: non-symptomatic (61.1%), moderate (32.9%) and severe (6.0%). CAST cutoff scores for screening moderate/ severe and severe were, respectively, three (AUC = 0.869) and eight (AUC = 0.952). Results are compared to those obtained in previous CAST studies and discussed in line with the DSM-5. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explored the latent class structure of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition (DSM-IV) (assessed with the Munich Composite International Diagnostic Interview). Secondly, the screening properties of the Cannabis Abuse Screening Test (CAST) in adolescents were assessed with classical test theory using the latent class structure as empirical gold standard. The sample comprised 3266 French cannabis users aged 17 to 19 from the general population. Three latent classes of cannabis users were identified reflecting a continuum of problem severity: non-symptomatic, moderate and severe. Gender-specific analyses showed the best model fit, although results were almost identical in the total sample. The latent classes were good predictors of daily cannabis use, number of joints per day and age of first experimentation. The CAST showed good screening properties for the moderate/ severe class (area under receiver operating characteristic curve > 0.85) and very good for the severe class (0.90). It was more sensitive for boys, more specific for girls. Although structural equivalence across gender was rejected, results suggest small gender differences in the latent structure of the DSM-IV. The performance of the CAST in screening for the latent class structure was good and superior to those obtained with the classical DSM-IV diagnoses. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]