Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2010 Mar;40(2):495-516.
doi: 10.1177/002204261004000210.

Self-report of Longitudinal Substance Use: A Comparison of the UCLA Natural History Interview and the Addiction Severity Index

Affiliations

Self-report of Longitudinal Substance Use: A Comparison of the UCLA Natural History Interview and the Addiction Severity Index

Debra A Murphy et al. J Drug Issues. 2010 Mar.

Abstract

Reliance on self-report of alcohol and drug use behavior is typical among studies of substance abusers. Few studies have compared different instruments assessing frequency of drug use over long periods of time to compare findings and determine if the pattern of use is shown to be similar across measures. In this study, the UCLA Natural History Interview (NHI) and the Addiction Severity Index (ASI) were administered at three annual follow-up periods (N = 301). The temporal pattern of the trajectories of days of use assessed by the ASI and NHI are comparable (in terms of both slope and intercept) for alcohol, heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, and marijuana use. Some discrepancies appear to arise from differences in terminology among the instruments. However, the patterns of drug use were consistent across instruments, supporting their reliability for longitudinal examination of self-reported drug use.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Alcohol use for past month.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Heroin use for past month.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Cocaine use for past month.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Meth use for past month.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Marijuana use for past month.

References

    1. Adair EBG, Craddock SG, Miller HG, Turner CF. Quality of treatment data: Reliability over time of self-reports given by clients in treatment for substance abuse. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment. 1996;13:145–150. - PubMed
    1. Alterman AI, Brown LS, Zaballero A, McKay JR. Interviewer severity ratings and composite scores of the ASI: a further look. Drug and Alcohol Dependence. 1994;34:201–209. - PubMed
    1. Amsel Z, Mandell W, Mathias L, Hocherman I. Reliability and validity of self-reported illegal activities and drug use collected from narcotic addicts. International Journal of the Addictions. 1976;11:325–336. - PubMed
    1. Anglin MD, McGlothlin WH. Outcome of narcotic addict treatment in California. In: Tims F, Ludford JP, editors. Drug Abuse Treatment Evaluation: Strategies, Progress and Prospects, NIDA Research Monograph 51, DHHS Publ. No. [ADM] 84–1329. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office; 1984. pp. 106–128. - PubMed
    1. Anglin MD, Hser Y, Chou C. Reliability and validity of retrospective behavioral self-report by narcotics addicts. Evaluation Review. 1993;17:91–108.

LinkOut - more resources