[ASRS v.1.1., a tool for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder screening in adults treated for addictive behaviors: psychometric properties and estimated prevalence].

ASRS v.1.1. is a self-applied brief instrument for the screening of individuals presenting symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and proposed by the WHO. The purpose of the present work was to test the instrument and examine the results of its application to a sample of 280 individuals in treatment for substance-related disorders (cross-sectional descriptive study). We administered simultaneously in the initial phases of treatment the ASRS v.1.1. (short form) and the MCMI-II to the full sample and the Wender Utah Rating Scale (WURS), ADHD-Rating Scale-IV and ASRS v.1.1. (complete form) to various sub-samples. Diagnostic interviews were also carried out and the psychometric properties and factorial structure of ASRS v.1.1. were explored. Good convergent validity, sensitivity, specificity and diagnostic capability were obtained for the six-item version of ASRS v.1.1., even though 4 out of 6 items did not discriminate between Axis I and II disorders assessed through the MCMI-II and diagnostic interviews. According to DSM-IV-TR criteria the estimated prevalence of ADHD in the sample of addicts was 8.2%. ASRS v.1.1. is criticized as a specific instrument for ADHD detection, since most of its items appear to measure a non-specific dimension of compulsiveness/impulsiveness, common to Axis-I and Axis-II disorders. Other criticisms made in the discussion concern the lack of specificity of DSM criteria and the confusion they generate among the concepts of symptom, sign and trait (including the impact on study results), the general use of the A criterion but the omission of the B, C, D and E criteria of the DSM category, differences in samples (with regard to both severity and selection criteria), and the artifactual increases in prevalence found in many studies.