This workshop will provide information on a growing body of instruments--termed very brief screeners or VBSs--that have appeared in recent years and that meet the need for brevity, accuracy, and ease of use. We define VBSs as measures that require no more than two minutes for a typical client or subject to complete. Most have 10 items or fewer, and some have only one or two. This distinguishes them not only from lengthy, full-form diagnostic measures such as the MMPI, but also from typical rapid assessment instruments which, though relatively brief, may still take from five to 15 minutes to complete.

There is no compilation or central source of information on VBSs, and for that reason it remains difficult for practitioners and researchers to locate, obtain, and evaluate them. This workshop will identify and review VBSs in several areas of importance to social work. These areas, along with some example VBSs within each, include: general mental health (Mental Health Inventory [MHI-5], K6 Questionnaire); physical health (SF-12); depression (Patient Health Questionnaire-2 [PHQ-2], Rand Depression Screener); alcohol abuse (CAGE, RAPS-4, T-ACE); substance use (RAAFT, Rost Substance Abuse Screener), anxiety (CIDI-SF Anxiety Module, S-R Inventory of General Trait Anxiousness); post-traumatic stress (SPAN, Short Screening Scale for PTSD); panic disorders (Brief Panic Disorder Screen, Autonomic Nervous System Questionnaire [ANS]); self-esteem (Single-Item Self-Esteem Scale [SISE]); eating disorders (SCOFF Questionnaire); interpersonal violence (Brief Victimization Screening [BVS] Questionnaire, Partner Violence Screen [PVS]); and others.

The VBSs to be reviewed were located and cataloged by searching abstracts in social work, psychology, nursing, medicine, and other fields. The workshop will profile more than 80 such measures, organized by category. This will include a description of the basic characteristics of each, such as number of items, reading level, and mean administration time, as well as an overview of each measure's psychometric properties. Because of their intended use in screening, particular attention will be given to the measures' sensitivity and specificity, and the associated risk of false positives or negatives arising from their use will be discussed. Each measure will be displayed in a Power Point slide, and we will describe how copies can be obtained, whether the measure is copyrighted or public domain, and whether obtaining it requires a particular license or other credentials. The workshop will conclude with a discussion of practical issues involved in using VBSs in research and direct services.