Brief Description
The Brief Addiction Monitor (BAM) is an assessment designed to be utilized with individuals with substance use disorders. It asks about alcohol and drug use, as well as other areas of life that impact/are impacted by drug use (e.g., risk factors and protective factors that support sobriety). It is most often used throughout the course of treatment to monitor a client's progress. Respondents answer questions related to their health, alcohol, and drug use (e.g., “In the past 30 days, how many days did you use any illegal/street drugs or abuse any prescription medications?”) on scales from “Excellent” to “Poor”, “Not at all” to “Extremely”, or numeric scales from 0-30.
Assessment Administration Type
Self-report
Number of questions
23
Age Range for Administration
18+
Recommended Frequency of Administration
Monthly
Summary of Scoring and Interpretations
The BAM contains 23 questions scored on a 5-point Likert scale with values from 0 (“Excellent” / “Not at all” / “No” / ”0”) to 4 (“Poor” / “Extremely” / “Yes”/ “16-30”); note, question 23 is reverse scored. A total score is not used (although Blueprint provides one by default, which is the sum of all items excluding items 7-13); instead, subscales are scored individually. Examining scores from individual items is the most clinically relevant use of this measure. See table below for subscale, associated items, score ranges, cut-off scores, and interpretation.
Subscale | Blueprint Items | Score range | Clinically significant Cut-offs |
Use | 4, 5, 6 | 0-12; higher meaning more Use | 1+ |
Risk Factors | 1, 2, 3, 14, 17, 21 | 0-24; higher meaning more Risk | 12+ |
Protective Factors | 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 22 | 0-24; higher meaning more Protection | 12 or below |
Note: Items 7-13 are not scored in the total score nor as part of subscales; instead, these responses provide elaboration for Item 6. Item 23 is not a part of the subscale scores and can be used as an overall assessment of treatment progress and is not included in a subscale score (if score of 3 or 4, discuss modifying or supplementing treatment).
Blueprint Adjustments
The original BAM has 17 questions, with item 7 including "sub-questions" #7A-7G. Blueprint has 23 questions, as it re-formats #7A-7G as separate questions, items 7-13. Thus, #8 on the BAM is #14 on the Blueprint version, and so on. All of the questions are exactly the same except for the numbering, and the scoring is preserved.
Clinical Considerations
Estimated completion time: 5-7 minutes
When using the BAM and considering a diagnosis, the clinician will still need to use clinical interviewing skills to determine whether the symptoms are causing clinically significant distress or impairment and those symptoms are not better explained or attributed to other conditions (i.e., medical conditions, bereavement, etc.).
Because norms are not available for evaluating patients’ data, the BAM is best used in comparison to the individual’s previous scores and evaluations to assess clinical progress.
See the table below for specific items on the BAM to attend to and possible clinical responses/actions include:
Question(s) | Score | Response |
#1 (health) | 3 or 4 | Refer to primary care |
#3 (mood) | 2, 3, or 4 | Conduct further assessment and treat accordingly |
#5, 6, 7 (heavy alcohol use, any drug use, specific drug use) | 1 or higher on any question | Discuss with the client and consider adjusting treatment (e.g., change treatment modality/ higher level of care) |
#14 (craving) | 3 or 4 | Consider medication (e.g., Naltrexone) |
#20 (income) | 0 | Refer to case management |
#22 (social support) | 0, 1 or 2 | Consider adding/ helping them find network support |
#23 (satisfaction with progress) | 3 or 4 | Discuss modifying or supplementing treatment to help increase satisfaction |
Citation
Relevant Articles + Further Resources
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