Leeds Dependence Questionnaire

Raistrick, Bradshaw, Tober, Weiner, Allison, Healey | 1994 

A self-report instrument called the Leeds Dependence Questionnaire (LDQ) assesses the level of dependence in people with substance use disorders. The questionnaire was created by a research team at the University of Leeds in the UK and released for the first time in 1994.

The LDQ has 20 questions that look at many aspects of drug dependence, such as how much a person's drug use gets in the way of their daily lives, how strong their need is, how important the drug is to them, and how much they can control how much they use.

Usually given as a self-report questionnaire, the LDQ takes between 10 and 15 minutes to complete. The responses are evaluated from "not at all" to "always." The overall score, which reflects the intensity of the reliance, is created by adding the scores from each item.

The LDQ has been used in numerous research to evaluate the degree of dependence in people with substance use disorders and has been shown to have strong reliability and validity. The questionnaire has also been utilised in international studies and translated into several languages.

To sum up, the Leeds Dependence Questionnaire can help people with substance use disorders figure out how much they depend on a substance. It is a reliable and valid tool that gives useful information about the type and severity of addiction and can help with treatment planning and making decisions.

Reference

Raistrick, D.S., Bradshaw, J., Tober, G., Weiner, J., Allison, J. & Healey, C. (1994) Development of the Leeds Dependence Questionnaire, Addiction, 89, pp 563-572.