Improving Ethics in Research: Development of the Coercion Assessment Scale

First, the investigators wish to widen the scope of the CAS so that it can reliably and validly measure perceived coercion. The content domain will be expanded to included pressures experienced by a range of individuals involved in the criminal justice system. Second, the investigators will finalize the CAS by ensuring that the instrument is appropriate for use with substance abusing offenders. A final goal of the study examines the psychometric properties of the instrument. This evaluation will include an examination of test-retest reliability, internal consistency and factor structure, and convergent and discriminant validity.

This study will be carried out in three distinct phases to satisfy the goals detailed above. The purpose of Phase 1 is to add to the already existing content of the CAS. In this phase, focus groups will be conducted with clients (i.e., substance abusing offenders) and professionals (i.e., treatment and criminal justice staff and stakeholders) in several different criminal justice. The goal of these groups will be to identify additional sources of coercion that substance abusing offenders may experience related to participation in research. The purpose of Phase 2 is to finalize and ensure the appropriateness of the instrument. In this phase, the investigators will conduct a protocol analysis with 30 drug court clients. The interviewer will read each item aloud to participants, and participants will provide their response. After completing each item, they will be interviewed about how they arrived at their decision. The purpose of Phase 3 is to evaluate the psychometric properties of the CAS. A total of 200 substance abusing offenders participating in an ongoing NIDA-funded study (i.e., the "host study") will receive TRI's manualized written informed consent procedure as part of their participation in the host study. Following consent, research staff will administer study assessments to all consented participants. Additionally, a random sample of 50 clients will be selected to complete a retest interview, scheduled three to five days following the initial interview to assess the extent to which responses vary between the two administrations.