Sensitivity of the addiction severity index physical and sexual assault items: Preliminary findings on gender differences

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.