Measuring the Veracity of Alcohol and Drug Users’ Self-Report of Sobriety Pages 70-76

Todd D. Pizitz, Joseph M. McCullaugh, Phil Sprague, Austin Blue, James Vacaro, Don Mealing and Kathleen Fernandez

Vista, 410 S. Melrose Drive, #202, Vista, CA 92081, USA

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.12970/2310-8231.2014.02.01.7

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Abstract: Countless people are afflicted with alcohol and drug use disorders. Those involved in sobriety maintenance programs are often subjected to alcohol and drug urine tests to measure the veracity of their self-reported claims of sobriety. To assess deception among alcohol and drug users, the Veracity TouchScreener™, and an alcohol and drug urine drug test was administered to 80 participants. The TouchScreener™, which is an interactive touchscreen that measures Significant Psychophysiological Responses (SPR) to sets of questions revealed an estimated 92% accuracy at classifying alcohol and drug user’s self-report of sobriety. This study assists in adding to the burgeoning base of research indicating that psychophysiological measures are effective and show robust accuracy in assessing suspected deception in participant responses.

Keywords: Deception Detection, Psychophysiological Response, Drug and Alcohol Abusers, Veracity. Read more