Does the profile of addiction change according to the type of the substance used?

Objective: The Addiction Profile Index (BAPI) is a self-report scale that has been developed in order to assess addiction severity and different dimensions of addiction. The BAPI is composed of 37 items and 5 subscales. The subscales assess substance use characteristics, addiction diagnosis criteria, the effects of substance use to the person's life, craving, and motivation to quit. The aim of this study was to investigate the psychometric properties of the scale in people using alcohol and substances.

Methods: A total of 345 alcohol and/or substance abusers participated in the study from two addiction treatment clinics and a prison. The validity of the questionnaire was tested with the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (MAST), Readiness to Change Questionnaire (SOCRATES), Penn Alcohol Craving Scale (PACS), Structured Clinical Interview for the DSM-IV Axis I Disorders (SCID I) and Addiction Severity Index (ASI).

Results: The Cronbach alpha coefficient was found to be 0.89. The Cronbach alpha coefficient for alcohol abusers was 0.76, whereas it was 0.70 for substance abusers. The Cronbach alpha coefficients for the subscales ranged from 0.63 to 0.86. This coefficient ranged from 0.57 to 0.83 for alcohol abusers and from 0.67 to 0.86 for substance abusers. Four factors were obtained according to the explanatory factor analysis and these 4 factors represented 52.39% percent of the whole variance. Two factors represented 48.5% of the variance for alcohol abusers and two factors explained 50.9% of the variance for substance abusers. In the ROC analyses, the area under the curve was found to be 0.90. The ROC analysis has shown that the area under the curve for alcohol abusers was 0.81 and for substance abusers was 0.93 (Graph 1 and 2). The BAPI craving subscale was found to be consistent with the PACS and the motivation subscale was found to be consistent with the SOCRATES. The BAPI total score showed a significant correlation with the MATT average score and the composite score of the Medical Condition, Substance Use, and Legal Status and Family Social Relations subscales of the ASI questionnaire.

Discussion: The results have shown that psychometric properties of the BAPI are satisfactory for alcohol and substance abusers. The psychometric properties of the total scale and the data of alcohol and substance abuse are similar. Finally, we can say that the BAPI can assess both alcohol and substance abuse rather than just alcohol use.