The Drug Abuse Screening Test (DAST-10) is one of the most widely used instruments for assessing problematic illicit drug use and its associated consequences, yet little is known about its long-term temporal stability in a longitudinal studies. Although its psychometric properties are well-established, limited evidence exists regarding its long-term temporal stability. This study aimed to evaluate the test–retest reliability and agreement of the DAST-10 in a general community sample across a 12-month interval. A total of 276 adults (mean age = 31.86 years; SD = 9.94; 71% male) from the Australian community completed the DAST-10 at two time points, separated by one year (2022 and 2023). Test–retest reliability was assessed using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), and test–retest agreement was evaluated using the Bland–Altman method. The DAST-10 demonstrated moderate test–retest reliability over the 12-month interval (ICC = 0.39, 95% CI = 0.22–0.52, p < 0.001), suggesting moderate score stability in the context of expected changes in drug use over time. The Bland–Altman analysis indicated a mean difference close to zero, with approximately 5% falling within the 95% limits of agreement, supporting good agreement between time points. These findings provide the first empirical evidence supporting the long-term temporal stability of the DAST-10 in a community-based sample. The results support the use of DAST-10 in longitudinal studies of drug use trajectories in community settings. These results have important implications for clinical assessment, public health surveillance, and research on substance use.
Gomez et al. (Wed,) studied this question.