title: Validation of the Alcohol, Smoking And Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST).
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The concurrent, construct and discriminative validity of the World Health Organization's Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST) were examined in a multi-site international study.
  
  
  METHODS
  One thousand and 47 participants, recruited from drug treatment (n = 350) and primary health care (PHC) settings (n = 697), were administered a battery of instruments.
  
  
  METHODS
  Measures included the ASSIST; the Addiction Severity Index-Lite (ASI-Lite); the Severity of Dependence Scale (SDS); the MINI International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI-Plus); the Rating of Injection Site Condition (RISC); the Drug Abuse Screening Test (DAST); the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT); the Revised Fagerstrom Tolerance Questionnaire (RTQ); and the Maudsley Addiction Profile (MAP).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Concurrent validity was demonstrated by significant correlations between ASSIST scores and scores from the ASI-Lite (r = 0.76-0.88), SDS (r = 0.59), AUDIT (r = 0.82) and RTQ (r = 0.78); and significantly greater ASSIST scores for those with MINI-Plus diagnoses of abuse or dependence (P < 0.001). Construct validity was established by significant correlations between ASSIST scores and measures of risk factors for the development of drug and alcohol problems (r = 0.48-0.76). Discriminative validity was established by the capacity of the ASSIST to discriminate between substance use, abuse and dependence. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was used to establish cut-off scores with suitable specificities (50-96%) and sensitivities (54-97%) for most substances.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The findings demonstrated that the ASSIST is a valid screening test for identifying psychoactive substance use in individuals who use a number of substances and have varying degrees of substance use.
authors: Drug and Alcohol, Services Council, Adelaide, Australia. rachel.humeniuk@adelaide.edu.au
authors: Rachel
authors: R
authors: Humeniuk
authors: Robert
authors: R
authors: Ali
authors: Thomas F
authors: TF
authors: Babor
authors: Michael
authors: M
authors: Farrell
authors: Maria L
authors: ML
authors: Formigoni
authors: Jaroon
authors: J
authors: Jittiwutikarn
authors: Roseli B
authors: RB
authors: de Lacerda
authors: Walter
authors: W
authors: Ling
authors: John
authors: J
authors: Marsden
authors: Maristela
authors: M
authors: Monteiro
authors: Sekai
authors: S
authors: Nhiwatiwa
authors: Hemraj
authors: H
authors: Pal
authors: Vladimir
authors: V
authors: Poznyak
authors: Sara
authors: S
authors: Simon
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000379:methods*; D011594:Psychometrics; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D015813:Substance Abuse Detection / Q000379:methods*; D016320:Substance Abuse Treatment Centers / Q000379:methods*; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology; D014944:World Health Organization