Reliability and validity of addiction severity index in drug users with methadone maintenance treatment in Guizhou Province, China

Objective To evaluate the reliability and validity of the Chinese version of addiction severity index (ASI)-5th version (ASI-C-5), in illegal drug users receiving methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) in China. Methods One hundred and eighty-six heroin addicts (144 men and 42 women) receiving MMT at three clinics in Guizhou province, southwest China, were recruited. They were all interviewed with a questionnaire of ASI-C-5 and 35 were re-interviewed at an interval of seven days to assess its test-retest reliability. Results Cronbach's alpha for internal consistency of CSs varied from 0.60 to 0.81 in all domains. Test-retest reliability of composite scores (CSs) of ASI-C-5 were satisfactory (r=0.38-0.97). Based on item analysis and expert's suggestions, five items were deleted and one item was modified in ASI-C-5. Criterion validity of ASI-C-5 was found acceptable, as compared to addicts' self-rating anxiety scale (SAS) and self-rating depression scale (SDS) (r=0.59 and 0.45) except for social support rating scale (SSRS). Conclusions ASI-C-5 can be used for heroin addicts receiving MMT with acceptable reliability and validity.