Reliability and Validity of the Turkish Version of the Addiction Severity Index in Male Alcohol Dependents.

INTRODUCTION

We aimed to evaluate the psychometric characteristics of the Turkish translation of the Addiction Severity Index (ASI) in 115 male alcohol-dependent patients.

METHOD

The reliability of the instrument was assessed by measuring test-retest, interrater and internal reliabilities. In the validity analysis, the correlation coefficients between corresponding severity ratings and composite scores of each subscale and concurrent validity were assessed. Moreover, the discriminant validity and concurrent validity scores were calculated.

RESULTS

The test-retest reliability of the ASI scores ranged from .79 to .91. The interrater reliability assigned by three raters was high (.74 to .99). Cronbach's alpha coefficient for internal consistency was .85 for all scales, and it varied between .64 and .77 for the subscales. The Beck Depression Inventory moderately correlated with the Psychatric status, and the MacAndrew Alcoholism Scale correlated with the Alcohol and Drug Use subscales of the Addiction Severity Index (ASI). The correlation coefficient was .91 for the alcohol use subscale.

CONCLUSION

The results obtained in this study suggest that the Turkish version of the ASI could be used as a reliable and valid instrument in alcohol-dependent patients.