Addiction Severity Index

The Addiction Severity Index (ASI) is probably the most commonly used assessment instrument in the substance abuse treatment field. It is part of most clinical intake assessments in more than 20 states and 50 cities in the United States. The ASI also is included in virtually all clinical trials of patients with substance use disorders. In brief, it is a clinician- or technician-administered, semistructured interview that gathers information on seven functional areas often negatively affected by alcohol and drug abuse: medical status, employment and support, drug use, alcohol use, legal status, family or social status, and psychiatric status. It typically is used upon admission to a treatment program and subsequent follow-up contacts. Clinicians may use the ASI in inpatient and outpatient substance abuse treatment settings to assess problem severity and need for treatment in each of the seven different areas. This information is used to develop treatment plans, monitor patient progress, and measure outcomes over time. Presently, the fifth version of the ASI is in use. Efforts currently are under way to complete a major revision of the ASI (version 6).

The ASI was developed on the premise that individuals with alcohol and drug use disorders often have multiple addiction-related problems that frequently disrupt their lives and impair their capacity to recover from substance abuse. Rather than the substance use itself, these problems often are the major concerns of patients and form the basis of the reasons they seek treatment. In addition, the continued unresolved nature of these problems may often trigger relapse to substance use. The ASI was developed to draw more attention to the specific health and social problems that usually complicate patients' recovery from substance abuse and to promote the inclusion of health and social services as part of the broad array of interventions used to help patients become alcohol and drug free. Recent research has shown that the addition of medical interventions, family or couples therapy, and other health and social services significantly improves the outcomes of standard addiction treatments.