The Addiction Severity Index as a Predictor of the Use of Mental Health Care

The Addiction Severity Index (ASI) has been extensively used in the United States and Europe as an indicator of the problems of substance abuse patients. Several studies have shown the ASI to be a reliable and valid instrument, but lately doubt has arisen regarding its validity and reliability. The...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Psychology of addictive behaviors 2006-06, Vol.20 (2), p.214-218
Main Authors: Reelick, N. F, Wierdsma, A. I
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Addiction
Addictive behaviors
Adult and adolescent clinical studies
Alcoholism
Biological and medical sciences
Drug addiction
False Positive Reactions
Female
Health Status Indicators
Heroin Dependence - therapy
Heroin Use Disorder
Human
Humans
Male
Medical sciences
Mental health care
Mental Health Services
Mental Health Services - utilization
Methadone - therapeutic use
Netherlands
Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychometrics. Diagnostic aid systems
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Rating Scales
Reliability
Reproducibility of Results
Severity of Illness Index
Substance abuse
Substance-Related Disorders - therapy
Techniques and methods
Test Validity
Validity
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The Addiction Severity Index (ASI) has been extensively used in the United States and Europe as an indicator of the problems of substance abuse patients. Several studies have shown the ASI to be a reliable and valid instrument, but lately doubt has arisen regarding its validity and reliability. The article focuses on a specific scale of the ASI-the Psychiatric Status scale-and its strength in predicting the use of mental health care. A group of 1,027 heroin patients in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, who participated in a methadone program were the subjects. Three indices have been used: the evaluation index, the clinical index, and the composite scores. It appears that no matter which indices are used, the Psychiatric scale does discriminate between those who will have contact with mental health care and those who will not. However, the percentage of false positives is high. None of the indices predicts the intensity and duration of the mental health care treatment.
ISSN:0893-164X
1939-1501
DOI:10.1037/0893-164X.20.2.214