Validation of the Addiction Severity Index (ASI) for internet and automated telephone self-report administration

Brodey, Benjamin B; Rosen, Craig S; Brodey, Inger S; Sheetz, Breanne M; Steinfeld, Robert R; Gastfriend, David R

doi:10.1016/j.jsat.2004.01.005

« Previous Next »Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment
Volume 26, Issue 4 , Pages 253-259, June 2004

Validation of the Addiction Severity Index (ASI) for internet and automated telephone self-report administration

Benjamin B Brodey, M.D., M.P.H.
- Corresponding author. Telesage, Inc., 716 Gimghoul Rd., Chapel Hill, NC 27514. Tel.: +1-919-942-8849; fax: +1-919-942-0036. More information about this project can be obtained at www.telesage.com
- University of Washington Medical School, Seattle, Washington, USA
- TeleSage, Inc., Seattle, Washington, and Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
Craig S Rosen, Ph.D.
- Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA
- VA Sierra-Nevada Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center. Stanford, California, USA
Inger S Brodey, Ph.D.
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
Breanne M Sheetz, B.A.
- TeleSage, Inc., Seattle, Washington, and Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
Robert R Steinfeld, M.A.
- TeleSage, Inc., Seattle, Washington, and Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
David R Gastfriend, M.D.
- Addiction Research Program, Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Received 13 August 2003; received in revised form 7 December 2003; accepted 27 January 2004.

Abstract

This study assesses the convergent validity of Internet (Net) and interactive voice response (IVR) automated telephone self-report versions of the Addiction Severity Index (ASI) relative to the established, clinician-administered (CA) ASI. Eighty-eight subjects were recruited from an addiction treatment program to complete three ASI assessments. The mean correlation between composite scores obtained by Net and IVR and those obtained via clinician interview was .91 (range .81–.95). For History items, the mean correlation was .77 (range .14–1.00) and the mean kappa coefficient was .75 (range .46–1.00). The results demonstrated the validity of these self-report Net and IVR versions of the ASI. Self-report Net and IVR were rated as “very satisfactory” or “extremely satisfactory” by a majority of respondents for ease of use. Automation can reduce the labor costs associated with ASI administration and may facilitate longitudinal tracking of subjects from home.

Keywords: Addiction Severity Index (ASI), Automated Telephone Survey, Interactive Voice Response (IVR) Survey, Internet Survey, Self-report