Research Article
Validity of the Adult Needs and Strengths Assessment with Substance Abuse Populations
Robert Sky Allen1* and Bradley D Olson21Regional Mental Health Center, Indianapolis Boulevard, East Chicago, Indiana, USA
2Community Psychology program of National Louis University, Chicago, Illinois, USA
- Corresponding Author:
- Robert Sky Allen
3903 Indianapolis Boulevard
East Chicago, IN 46312
Tel: 219 201 7613
Fax: 219 392 6998
E-mail: skyallen@comcast.net
Received date: June 22, 2015 Accepted date: July 30, 2015 Published date: August 06, 2015
Citation: Allen RS, Olson BD (2015) Validity of the Adult Needs and Strengths Assessment with Substance Abuse Populations. J Addict Res Ther 6:235. doi:10.4172/2155-6105.1000235
Copyright: © 2015 Allen RS, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Abstract
Objective: The purpose of this study was to introduce a relatively new assessment tool, and to evaluate its validity as a clinical instrument of measurement and placement. The study examined the validity of the Adult Needs and Strengths Assessment (ANSA) as a standardized screening device in the treatment of substance use disorders. The authors analyzed the ANSA scores of 191 participants who were assigned to an episode of substance abuse treatment, focusing on the Level of Need algorithmic calculation of the ANSA, as well as three specific ANSA domains, including Substance Use Disorder, Criminal Behavior, and Community Connection. ANSA clinical scores were compared to scores from a self-report substance abuse survey.
Methods: It is important for therapists to know that the instruments of measurement they employ are documenting their clients’ perspective accurately. Therefore, analyses examined whether clinical assessments were capturing participants’ self-reported changes in substance-related outcomes. When a pilot study for this research revealed a positive correlation between the ANSA comprehensive clinical assessment and a brief substance abuse survey, the authors expanded the study to ascertain if other domains of the ANSA were correlated with the survey.
Results: Relationships were found between change scores on the ANSA and change scores on the survey selfreport, with the exception of the Community Connection domain which yielded no measurable relationship. As the study was intended to be a preliminary investigation of the ANSA, recommendations for further exploration of the ANSA’s algorithmic properties, as well as further research into other domains of the ANSA, were included.
Conclusion: Preliminary evidence suggests that the ANSA is a valid tool of measurement, and that it does reflect the client’s perspective accurately, thus strengthening confidence in its use as a standardized screening instrument.
