Reliability and validity of an internalizing symptom scale based on the adolescent and adult Semi-Structured Assessment for the Genetics of Alcoholism (SSAGA)

ABSTRACTBackground: The Semi-Structured Assessment for the Genetics of Alcoholism (SSAGA) is an interview that assesses psychiatric symptoms and diagnoses, including substance use disorders and anxiety and mood (i.e., internalizing) disorders. Although the SSAGA is widely used, there exists no overall internalizing characteristics scale based on items drawn from SSAGA’s mood and anxiety disorder sections. Objectives: To design and assess a SSAGA-based measurement instrument capturing the overall internalizing dimension that underlies more specific internalizing conditions. Methods: We developed, assessed, and characterized a new scale for measuring internalizing problematic characteristics derived from the SSAGA interview. All samples were drawn from the Collaborative Studies on the Genetics of Alcoholism, a prospective multi-site genetic study of families at high risk for alcohol use disorders. All participants taking part in the study between September 2005 and September 2017 were eligible (n = 904, 52....