Studied the effectiveness and the psychometric properties of the French version of the Adolescent Drug Abuse Diagnosis (A. S. Friedman and A. Utada, 1989), a structured interview based on the Addiction Severity Index (A. T. McLellan et al, 1980). Nine life problem areas that often are relevant to the treatment needs of adolescent drug abusers were assessed: medical status, school history and status, employment history, social activities and peer relationships, family background and relationships, psychological status and problems, criminal behavior, and drug and alcohol use. The instrument was administered individually to 72 male and female adolescent and young adult French-speaking drug users aged 13-19 yrs in Switzerland. The results were compared with the original US data. Statistical analyses show that the French version of the Adolescent Drug Abuse Diagnosis provides diversified data on the adolescent and young adult life experience, especially in the area of drug use, and that it has satisfactory psychometric properties. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2004 APA, all rights reserved)