Citation

Langeland W, Van Den Brink W, Draijer N, Hartgers C. Eur. Addict. Res. 2001; 7(4): 193-197.

Affiliation

Amsterdam Institute for Addiction Research, Free University Amsterdam, The Netherlands. w.vandenbrink@amc.uva.nl

Copyright

(Copyright © 2001, Karger Publishers)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

11752850

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Evaluation of the Addiction Severity Index (ASI) as a screen for identifying sexual and physical assault histories. METHOD: The sensitivity and specificity of the ASI assault items were examined in 146 alcoholic patients with the assault questions of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview posttraumatic stress module as external criterion. RESULTS: The sensitivity of the ASI items was lower than their specificity for both physical (sensitivity = 0.35, specificity = 0.83) and sexual abuse (sensitivity = 0.69, specificity = 0.94). These findings indicate an underestimation of such abuse histories in male patients due to screening for a narrow range of possible perpetrators. CONCLUSION: The ASI method as a screen for sexual and physical assault histories could be improved, considering that men clearly outnumber women in persons applying for alcohol treatment.

Language: en