Bakgrund Socialtjänsten saknar register för uppföljning av kvalitet. Utan kunskap om vilka insatser som socialtjänsten ger   riskerar personer att blir utan effektiva insatser eller utsätts för insatser som kan vara till mer skada än nytta. Syfte Förbättrad livssituation för individer i socialtjänstens missbruks- och beroendevård genom  systematisk uppföljning. Öka användningen av Addiction Severity Index- (ASI) för att följa och utveckla socialtjänstens insatser. Identifiera faktorer som bidrar till eller försvåra användandet av ASI. Metod Programteorin innehållande fem förbättringsområden togs fram. Förbättringsarbetet följdes upp genom genomförda ASI-intervjuer. Förbättringsarbetet studerades med mixad metod. Kvantitativ data med tidsserieanalys och kvalitativ data  med tematisk analys. Resultaten har analyserats genom Modell för implementering i olika kontexter. Resultat Användning av ASI-intervjuer ökade men nådde ej målen. Studien av förbättringsarbetet ger få svar på vad som påverkar användningen av ASI. Starkare koppling av faktorer med negativ inverkan på ASI-användningen än positiva inverkan. Slutsatser Förbättringsarbete  på flera områden gav ökad ASI-användning. Förbättringsarbete kan bedrivas samtidigt i ett läns kommuner. Det finns intresse för förenklade ASI-intervjuer men försöket gav ej underlag att dra slutsatser. Studien visar  faktorer som påverkar användningen av ASI men att det krävs fördjupningar för att generaliserbara slutsatser. / BackgroundSocial services do not have registers for monitoring quality. Without knowledge of what interventions the social services provide already exposed groups risk missing follow-up and improvement of care and support. Purpose Improved life situation for individuals in social services addiction care through systematic follow-up. Increase the use of Addiction Severity Index (ASI) to monitor and improve social services. Identify factors that contribute to or hamper the use of ASI. Method A program theory was developed. The improvement work was studied with a mixed method. Quantitative data with time series analysis and qualitative data with thematic analysis. Results was analysed through Model for implementation in different contexts. Results The use of ASI interviews increased but did not reach the targets. The study of the improvement gives few answers to what affects the use of ASI. Stronger coupling of factors with a negative impact on ASI usage than positive impact. Conclusion Improvement in multiple areas increased use of ASI. Improvement can be carried out simultaneously in 13 municipalities in a county. There is interest in simplified ASI interviews, but the trial did not provide evidence to draw conclusions. The study shows factors that affect the use of ASI, but that there is a need for more studies to generalize conclusions.

<p>Denna uppsats fokus ligger på den praktik inom socialt arbete där kategorier produceras, upprätthålls, modifieras och bryts. Huvudsyftet har varit att studera professionell retorik i relation till det kategoriseringsarbete som sker inom välfärdsstatliga miljöer. En diskursanalytisk metod har valts som grund i form av en kategoriseringsanalys. De teoretiska förutsättningarna har varit poststrukturalism, social konstruktionism och diskurspsykologi och mer specificerat i form av institutionell kategorisering, medan Jonathans Potters (1996) metodologiska retoriska verktyg kring faktakonstruktion tillämpats för att analysera hur respondenterna framställt sina utsagor som trovärdiga och faktamässiga.</p><p>Addiction Severity Index (ASI) manualen har använts som utgångspunkt för insamlandet av empiri, men även som ett sätt att försöka fånga in professionell hjälpverksamhets generella ambition att standardisera och säkra sitt arbetssätt. Sammanlagt har tio yrkesverksamma professionella hjälpare som aktivt använts sig av ASI manualen i sitt dagliga arbete intervjuats, dessa kom även från en och samma institution.</p><p>Analysresultatet visar att de professionella hjälparna beskriver två olika huvudkategorier som relevanta för deras verksamhet, nämligen sexualbrottslingen och missbrukaren. Kategorierna skildras även på vitt skilda sätt avseende motivation, vilja och samarbete, där olika moralarbeten leder till att de professionella hjälparna agerar mot sexualbrottslingen och missbrukaren på skilda sätt. Det som stått på spel i intervjusituationen har varit professionalitet, moralarbete och säkerhet inom välfärdsstatliga miljöer. Där de professionella hjälparna byggt upp sina påstående så att de kan hantera dessa frågor, både för att kunna styrka sin professionalitet inför sig själva och inför mig som forskare, men även för att visa att de kan hantera frågor kring moral och ansvar och att arbetet de utför är säkert ur ett klientperspektiv, dvs. att besluten som tas grundas på säkra bedömningar och omdömen från de professionella hjälparnas sida.</p>

<p><strong>ABSTRACT</strong></p><p>Standardized assessment instruments have increasingly come to be used in social work. Although national studies of ASI and DOK's reliability and validity has only been examined to a limited extent. In order to improve knowledge of assessment instruments conditions, relevance and scope, this present literature study highlights the background and the application of the interview methods ASI and DOK, used in swedish abuse and dependent care. In answering the survey questions, a qualitative content analytical method has been used. ASI and DOK are multidimensional interviews which take into account that several areas affecting the client's treatment outcome. Assessment instruments differ in respect of use, approach to the assessment of client needs and help troubled, the basis for the interview estimates and its rating scales. International research shows that the ASI and DOK include a number of methodological problems that affect the reliability and validity in self-reported data. Assessment instruments different question areas, however, lacks a theoretical framework that allows any assumptions about the causal relationships between key areas of life and substance abuse problems. In accordance with a social constructionism perspective, ASI and DOK's usability are time and culture bound and must therefore be seen as methods that are in a constant process of change to generate as reliable knowledge as possible.</p><p><strong>Keywords: </strong>assessment instrument, social work, Addiction Severity Index, ASI, documentation system, DOC, structured interviews, addiction, substance abuse.</p>

Denna uppsats fokus ligger på den praktik inom socialt arbete där kategorier produceras, upprätthålls, modifieras och bryts. Huvudsyftet har varit att studera professionell retorik i relation till det kategoriseringsarbete som sker inom välfärdsstatliga miljöer. En diskursanalytisk metod har valts som grund i form av en kategoriseringsanalys. De teoretiska förutsättningarna har varit poststrukturalism, social konstruktionism och diskurspsykologi och mer specificerat i form av institutionell kategorisering, medan Jonathans Potters (1996) metodologiska retoriska verktyg kring faktakonstruktion tillämpats för att analysera hur respondenterna framställt sina utsagor som trovärdiga och faktamässiga. Addiction Severity Index (ASI) manualen har använts som utgångspunkt för insamlandet av empiri, men även som ett sätt att försöka fånga in professionell hjälpverksamhets generella ambition att standardisera och säkra sitt arbetssätt. Sammanlagt har tio yrkesverksamma professionella hjälpare som aktivt använts sig av ASI manualen i sitt dagliga arbete intervjuats, dessa kom även från en och samma institution. Analysresultatet visar att de professionella hjälparna beskriver två olika huvudkategorier som relevanta för deras verksamhet, nämligen sexualbrottslingen och missbrukaren. Kategorierna skildras även på vitt skilda sätt avseende motivation, vilja och samarbete, där olika moralarbeten leder till att de professionella hjälparna agerar mot sexualbrottslingen och missbrukaren på skilda sätt. Det som stått på spel i intervjusituationen har varit professionalitet, moralarbete och säkerhet inom välfärdsstatliga miljöer. Där de professionella hjälparna byggt upp sina påstående så att de kan hantera dessa frågor, både för att kunna styrka sin professionalitet inför sig själva och inför mig som forskare, men även för att visa att de kan hantera frågor kring moral och ansvar och att arbetet de utför är säkert ur ett klientperspektiv, dvs. att besluten som tas grundas på säkra bedömningar och omdömen från de professionella hjälparnas sida.

ABSTRACT Standardized assessment instruments have increasingly come to be used in social work. Although national studies of ASI and DOK's reliability and validity has only been examined to a limited extent. In order to improve knowledge of assessment instruments conditions, relevance and scope, this present literature study highlights the background and the application of the interview methods ASI and DOK, used in swedish abuse and dependent care. In answering the survey questions, a qualitative content analytical method has been used. ASI and DOK are multidimensional interviews which take into account that several areas affecting the client's treatment outcome. Assessment instruments differ in respect of use, approach to the assessment of client needs and help troubled, the basis for the interview estimates and its rating scales. International research shows that the ASI and DOK include a number of methodological problems that affect the reliability and validity in self-reported data. Assessment instruments different question areas, however, lacks a theoretical framework that allows any assumptions about the causal relationships between key areas of life and substance abuse problems. In accordance with a social constructionism perspective, ASI and DOK's usability are time and culture bound and must therefore be seen as methods that are in a constant process of change to generate as reliable knowledge as possible. Keywords: assessment instrument, social work, Addiction Severity Index, ASI, documentation system, DOC, structured interviews, addiction, substance abuse.

Zugl.: Paderborn, Univ., Diss., 2008

Paderborn, Universiẗat, Diss., 2008.

La conception des Alimentations Sans Interruption (ASI) a fait l’objet d’améliorations successives ces dernières années afin d’atteindre des niveaux de rendement avoisinant les 95% tout en minimisant leur encombrement. L’utilisation massive de l’électronique de puissance pour ces systèmes conduit à y concentrer tous les efforts de conception pour augmenter à la fois le rendement et la densité de puissance. Les développements constants en électronique de puissance offrent au concepteur des multitudes d’options, parmi elles, les topologies de puissance multi-niveaux et/ou entrelacées pour réduire le volume des composants passifs, les nouvelles technologies des matériaux semi-conducteurs avec l’introduction des composants grand gap, ainsi que l’avancée technologique sur les matériaux utilisés dans les composants passifs. Le choix entre ces options est un compromis pour atteindre les objectifs prédéfinis, particulièrement lorsque d’autres contraintes apparaissent pour limiter l’espace des solutions possibles, notamment l’aspect thermique, les limites technologiques ou les contraintes CEM. Ces travaux proposent la mise en œuvre de dimensionnements par optimisation multi-objectifs de l’ensemble du convertisseur avec toutes ses contraintes. Ceci offre un outil rapide pour comparer les différentes possibilités de conception optimale capable de quantifier le gain apporté au convertisseur par les différentes solutions. Pour ce faire, les différents choix topologiques et technologiques ont été traités par le développement de modèles multi-physiques acceptant des paramètres d’entrée discrets. Ainsi, les convertisseurs optimisés répondent naturellement aux contraintes industrielles cadrées par des catalogues de fournisseurs spécifiques. Pour ce faire, nous avons commencé par dresser les différentes contraintes énergétiques imposées sur l’ASI dans son environnement. L’identification des solutions adaptées à sa conception est réalisée à travers un état de l’art des recherches dans le domaine de l’électronique de puissance. Des modèles génériques des structures de puissance, ainsi que des modèles multi-physiques discrets des composants sont ensuite développés à la base des approches analytiques assurant le bon compromis entre précision et rapidité de calcul. Finalement, une méthodologie d’optimisation multi-objectif et multi contraintes est réalisé sur l’ensemble des solutions pour quantifier les performances atteintes par chacune d’elles. Des travaux expérimentaux nous ont été indispensables pour valider les modèles et les solutions optimales. Sur la base des résultats d’optimisation un convertisseur PFC de 4.2kW/L a été construit est ses performances ont été validées. / The design of Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS) has been successively improved in recent years to achieve efficiency levels of around 95% while minimizing their footprint. The massive use of power electronics for these systems is led to focus all design efforts to increase both efficiency and power density. The constant developments in power electronics provide the designer many options, among them the multi-level and/or interleaved power topologies in order to reduce passive components size, the new technologies of semiconductor materials with the introduction of grand gap components and advanced technology on passive components materials. The choice between these options is a compromise to achieve the predefined objectives, particularly when other constraints appear to limit the space of possible solutions, including thermal aspect, technological limitations or EMI constraints. This work proposes the implementation of multi-objective optimization methodology for the design of power converters with all its constraints. This offers a quick tool to compare the different possibilities of design and to quantify the improvement provided to the converter. To do this, different topological and technological choices were studied with the development of multi-physics models. These models can take discrete variables as input. So, optimized converters could meet industrial requirements covered by real components and their datasheets. To do this, we first establish the different constraints imposed on the UPS within its environment. Identifying solutions to design is carried through a state of the art research in the field of power electronics. Generic models of power structures and discrete multi-physical models of the components are then developed based on analytical approaches by ensuring a good compromise between accuracy and speed of calculation. Finally, multi-objective and multi constraints optimization methodology is performed on the set of design choices to quantify the performances achieved by each of them. Experimental work has been essential for us to validate the models and optimal solutions. Based on the optimization results PFC converter of 4.2kW/L was built is its performance has been validated.

Conforme revisão da literatura, existem poucos instrumentos de pesquisa no Brasil que avaliam de forma mais ampla os problemas relacionados ao álcool e outras drogas. Neste contexto, a sexta versão do Addiction Severity Index (ASI6) foi escolhida para ser validada no Brasil. Trata-se de uma entrevista semi-estruturada que foi planejada de forma multidimensional para obter informações sobre os problemas de abuso de substância e outros aspectos da vida como: médico, ocupacional, aspectos legais, sócio-familiar e psiquiátrico. Essa tese descreve na sua introdução as modificações dessa versão do instrumento, que foi desenvolvida para aprimorar seu conteúdo e corrigir as principais limitações das versões anteriores. A tese contém 5 manuscritos e teve como objetivos principais: adaptar a escala traduzida como Escala de Gravidade de Dependência (ASI6) para a cultura brasileira (carta ao editor anexada), apresentar o instrumento através de um caso clínico (artigo 1), além de testar algumas de suas propriedades psicométricas em uma população clínica (artigo 2). Para isso, um estudo transversal multicêntrico foi conduzido em 4 capitais de estados brasileiros, e as características da amostra foram descritas (artigo 3) e comparadas entre os cinco centros de pesquisa que coordenaram o estudo. Foram entrevistados por cinco centros de pesquisa 150 pacientes adultos internados ou em tratamento ambulatorial que buscaram tratamento em centros especializados em dependência química. Um total de 740 abusadores ou dependentes de substâncias foi selecionado. A qualidade dos dados coletados foi assegurada pelo treinamento e supervisão dos entrevistadores. A maioria dos pacientes entrevistados era do sexo masculino (78%) e a média de idade foi de 36 anos, e as drogas mais consumidas nos últimos 30 dias foram: álcool (82%), cocaína/crack (51%) e maconha (41%). No geral, não houve grandes diferenças significativas entre os centros no que tange aos escores de gravidade do ASI6. Na análise psicométrica, a maioria das áreas da ASI demonstrou boa confiabilidade, sem diferenças estatisticamente significativas entre os Escores Sumários de Funcionamento Recente (SS-Rs) da ASI-6 no teste-reteste e entre entrevistadores. O alfa de Cronbach para as subescalas da ASI-6 variou de 0,64 a 0,95. Correlações entre os escores da área Álcool e Drogas da ASI-6 e o instrumento concorrente (ASSIST) foram altas (0,72 e 0,89, respectivamente). Encontrou-se também uma correlação negativa, estatisticamente significativa entre os escores nas áreas psiquiátrica, médica e drogas, e os escores da WHOQOL. Esses primeiros resultados apontam para uma boa confiabilidade e validade da Escala de Gravidade de Dependência para a cultura brasileira. Além dos aspectos acima mencionados, a tese também inclui outras análises relacionadas a essa amostra na forma de artigos científicos. O primeiro deles (artigo 4), compara 293 usuários de crack com 126 usuários de cocaína e 324 pacientes que apresentaram uso de álcool e outras drogas, e demonstrou que o grupo de usuários de crack apresentou mais indivíduos (25%) com personalidade antissocial do que usuários de cocaína (9%) e usuários de outras drogas (9%), mesmo depois de ajuste para idade e gênero, com uma Razão de Prevalência de 2,6 (IC 95%: 1,10-6,40). Através dos escores de gravidade do ASI, os usuários de crack também demonstraram significativamente mais problemas ocupacionais, familiares e legais, principalmente devido ao envolvimento em atividades ilegais como tráfico de drogas e outros crimes, quando comparados a outros usuários de substâncias psicoativas. Por fim, um outro estudo (artigo 5) avaliou a qualidade de vida (QV), através do WHOQOL-BREF, de 174 sujeitos que consideraram o álcool como causador de sérios problemas em suas vidas e os fez buscar tratamento especializado para esse problema. Quando comparados os SS-Rs entre tercis de gravidade de problemas de álcool, encontraram-se diferenças significativas (p=0,002) nos domínios físicos e psicológicos que eram mais baixos no grupo com mais problemas relacionados ao álcool. Além disso, o aumento da gravidade dos problemas desses pacientes, especialmente nas áreas médica e psiquiátrica, avaliados pelos SS-Rs do ASI6 também apresentou uma correlação negativa com os escores do WHOQOL-BREF. Através dos achados dessa tese, conclui-se que o ASI6 poderá ser incorporado ao arsenal diagnóstico de pacientes usuários de drogas que buscam tratamento, a fim de auxiliar a avaliar a sua problemática, e melhorar as estratégias de abordagem e intervenção relacionadas às necessidades específicas dessa população. Sem dúvida, serão necessários novos estudos de avaliação psicométrica com outras amostras de consumidores de substâncias psicoativas. Os resultados da tese também sugerem que os usuários de crack devem ser melhor avaliados com o ASI6 ou com outros instrumentos que abordam sintomas psiquiátricos, especialmente quanto a comportamentos antissociais, que provavelmente estão relacionados aos inúmeros problemas legais, familiares e sociais dessa população. Ademais, os achados finais indicam que alcoolistas que buscam tratamento devem ser avaliados quanto aos seus sintomas psiquiátricos e que a diminuição da gravidade dos problemas relacionados ao álcool poderá melhorar a qualidade de vida psicológica desses pacientes. / A review of the literature demonstrated that there are few instruments in Brazil to assess the problems related to alcohol and other drugs in a more general manner. In this context, the sixth version of the Addiction Severity Index (ASI-6) was chosen to be validated in Brazil. This instrument consists of a semi-structured interview that was designed in a multidimensional way to collect data about problems related to substance abuse and other aspects of life in the medical, occupational, legal, social relations and family, and psychiatric domains. This version of the instrument was modified with the purpose of improving its content and solving the major limitations of the previous versions. The present dissertation includes five manuscripts and its main objectives were: to adapt the ASI-6 to the Brazilian culture (letter to the editor attached); to present this instrument based on a clinical case (manuscript 1); and to test some of its psychometric properties in a clinical population (manuscript 2). In order to reach these objectives, a multicenter study was conducted in four Brazilian state capitals. The characteristics of the sample were described (manuscript 3) and compared between the five research centers that coordinated the study. A total of 150 adult inpatients or outpatients who sought treatment at five specialized centers for substance abuse were interviewed. A total of 740 substance dependent or abusers were selected. Interviewers were trained and supervised to ensure the quality of the data collected. Most patients were male (78%) and their mean age was 36 years. The most abused drugs in the previous 30 days were: alcohol (82%), cocaine/crack (51%), and marijuana (41%). Overall, there were no major differences between the research centers regarding the ASI-6 severity scores. According to the psychometric analysis, most areas of the ASI demonstrated good reliability, with no statistically significant differences between the ASI-6 Summary Scores for Recent Functioning (SS-Rs) in the test-retest and between interviewers. The Cronbach's alpha for the ASI-6 subscales ranged from 0.64 to 0.95. The correlations between the ASI-6 and the other instrument (ASSIST) scores for the alcohol and drugs area were high (0.72 and 0.89, respectively). There was also a negative statistically significant correlation between the scores of the psychiatric, medical and drugs areas and the scores of the WHOQOL. These initial results suggest a good reliability and validity of the ASI for the Brazilian culture. In addition to the above mentioned aspects, this dissertation also includes additional analyses related to this sample presented in two other scientific papers. The first study (manuscript 4) compared 293 crack users with 126 cocaine users and 324 patients who used alcohol and other drugs. The results demonstrated that the group of crack users had more individuals (25%) with antisocial personality than the group of cocaine users (9%) and the users of other drugs (9%) even after adjusting for age and gender, with a Prevalence Ratio of 2.6 (CI95%: 1.10 to 6.40). Based on the ASI severity scores, crack users also showed significantly more occupational, family and legal problems, mainly in terms of involvement in illegal activities such as drug dealing and other crimes, when compared with other drug users of psychoactive substances. Finally, another study (manuscript 5) used the WHOQOL-BREF to evaluate the quality of life (QoL) of 174 subjects who considered that alcohol was causing serious problems in their lives and led them to seek specialized treatment. When the SS-Rs between the severity tertiles of alcohol problems were compared, there were significant differences (p = 0.002) in the physical and psychological domains, which were lower in the group with more alcohol-related problems. Furthermore, the increased severity of these patients' problems, especially in the medical and psychiatric areas assessed by the ASI-6 SS-Rs, also showed a negative correlation with the WHOQOL-BREF scores. Based on these findings, it is possible to conclude that the ASI-6 may be included in the set of diagnostic instruments of drug users seeking treatment to help assess their problems and improve the approach and intervention strategies related to the specific needs of this population. Indeed, further psychometric assessment studies involving other samples of psychoactive substance users are needed. The results of this dissertation also suggest that crack users should be better evaluated using the ASI- 6 or other instruments dealing with psychiatric symptoms, especially regarding antisocial behaviors, which are probably related to the high rate of legal, family and social problems of this population. In addition, the final findings indicate that alcoholics who seek treatment should have their psychiatric symptoms assessed and that a decrease in the severity of alcohol-related problems may improve the psychological quality of life of these patients.

Conforme revisão da literatura, existem poucos instrumentos de pesquisa no Brasil que avaliam de forma mais ampla os problemas relacionados ao álcool e outras drogas. Neste contexto, a sexta versão do Addiction Severity Index (ASI6) foi escolhida para ser validada no Brasil. Trata-se de uma entrevista semi-estruturada que foi planejada de forma multidimensional para obter informações sobre os problemas de abuso de substância e outros aspectos da vida como: médico, ocupacional, aspectos legais, sócio-familiar e psiquiátrico. Essa tese descreve na sua introdução as modificações dessa versão do instrumento, que foi desenvolvida para aprimorar seu conteúdo e corrigir as principais limitações das versões anteriores. A tese contém 5 manuscritos e teve como objetivos principais: adaptar a escala traduzida como Escala de Gravidade de Dependência (ASI6) para a cultura brasileira (carta ao editor anexada), apresentar o instrumento através de um caso clínico (artigo 1), além de testar algumas de suas propriedades psicométricas em uma população clínica (artigo 2). Para isso, um estudo transversal multicêntrico foi conduzido em 4 capitais de estados brasileiros, e as características da amostra foram descritas (artigo 3) e comparadas entre os cinco centros de pesquisa que coordenaram o estudo. Foram entrevistados por cinco centros de pesquisa 150 pacientes adultos internados ou em tratamento ambulatorial que buscaram tratamento em centros especializados em dependência química. Um total de 740 abusadores ou dependentes de substâncias foi selecionado. A qualidade dos dados coletados foi assegurada pelo treinamento e supervisão dos entrevistadores. A maioria dos pacientes entrevistados era do sexo masculino (78%) e a média de idade foi de 36 anos, e as drogas mais consumidas nos últimos 30 dias foram: álcool (82%), cocaína/crack (51%) e maconha (41%). No geral, não houve grandes diferenças significativas entre os centros no que tange aos escores de gravidade do ASI6. Na análise psicométrica, a maioria das áreas da ASI demonstrou boa confiabilidade, sem diferenças estatisticamente significativas entre os Escores Sumários de Funcionamento Recente (SS-Rs) da ASI-6 no teste-reteste e entre entrevistadores. O alfa de Cronbach para as subescalas da ASI-6 variou de 0,64 a 0,95. Correlações entre os escores da área Álcool e Drogas da ASI-6 e o instrumento concorrente (ASSIST) foram altas (0,72 e 0,89, respectivamente). Encontrou-se também uma correlação negativa, estatisticamente significativa entre os escores nas áreas psiquiátrica, médica e drogas, e os escores da WHOQOL. Esses primeiros resultados apontam para uma boa confiabilidade e validade da Escala de Gravidade de Dependência para a cultura brasileira. Além dos aspectos acima mencionados, a tese também inclui outras análises relacionadas a essa amostra na forma de artigos científicos. O primeiro deles (artigo 4), compara 293 usuários de crack com 126 usuários de cocaína e 324 pacientes que apresentaram uso de álcool e outras drogas, e demonstrou que o grupo de usuários de crack apresentou mais indivíduos (25%) com personalidade antissocial do que usuários de cocaína (9%) e usuários de outras drogas (9%), mesmo depois de ajuste para idade e gênero, com uma Razão de Prevalência de 2,6 (IC 95%: 1,10-6,40). Através dos escores de gravidade do ASI, os usuários de crack também demonstraram significativamente mais problemas ocupacionais, familiares e legais, principalmente devido ao envolvimento em atividades ilegais como tráfico de drogas e outros crimes, quando comparados a outros usuários de substâncias psicoativas. Por fim, um outro estudo (artigo 5) avaliou a qualidade de vida (QV), através do WHOQOL-BREF, de 174 sujeitos que consideraram o álcool como causador de sérios problemas em suas vidas e os fez buscar tratamento especializado para esse problema. Quando comparados os SS-Rs entre tercis de gravidade de problemas de álcool, encontraram-se diferenças significativas (p=0,002) nos domínios físicos e psicológicos que eram mais baixos no grupo com mais problemas relacionados ao álcool. Além disso, o aumento da gravidade dos problemas desses pacientes, especialmente nas áreas médica e psiquiátrica, avaliados pelos SS-Rs do ASI6 também apresentou uma correlação negativa com os escores do WHOQOL-BREF. Através dos achados dessa tese, conclui-se que o ASI6 poderá ser incorporado ao arsenal diagnóstico de pacientes usuários de drogas que buscam tratamento, a fim de auxiliar a avaliar a sua problemática, e melhorar as estratégias de abordagem e intervenção relacionadas às necessidades específicas dessa população. Sem dúvida, serão necessários novos estudos de avaliação psicométrica com outras amostras de consumidores de substâncias psicoativas. Os resultados da tese também sugerem que os usuários de crack devem ser melhor avaliados com o ASI6 ou com outros instrumentos que abordam sintomas psiquiátricos, especialmente quanto a comportamentos antissociais, que provavelmente estão relacionados aos inúmeros problemas legais, familiares e sociais dessa população. Ademais, os achados finais indicam que alcoolistas que buscam tratamento devem ser avaliados quanto aos seus sintomas psiquiátricos e que a diminuição da gravidade dos problemas relacionados ao álcool poderá melhorar a qualidade de vida psicológica desses pacientes. / A review of the literature demonstrated that there are few instruments in Brazil to assess the problems related to alcohol and other drugs in a more general manner. In this context, the sixth version of the Addiction Severity Index (ASI-6) was chosen to be validated in Brazil. This instrument consists of a semi-structured interview that was designed in a multidimensional way to collect data about problems related to substance abuse and other aspects of life in the medical, occupational, legal, social relations and family, and psychiatric domains. This version of the instrument was modified with the purpose of improving its content and solving the major limitations of the previous versions. The present dissertation includes five manuscripts and its main objectives were: to adapt the ASI-6 to the Brazilian culture (letter to the editor attached); to present this instrument based on a clinical case (manuscript 1); and to test some of its psychometric properties in a clinical population (manuscript 2). In order to reach these objectives, a multicenter study was conducted in four Brazilian state capitals. The characteristics of the sample were described (manuscript 3) and compared between the five research centers that coordinated the study. A total of 150 adult inpatients or outpatients who sought treatment at five specialized centers for substance abuse were interviewed. A total of 740 substance dependent or abusers were selected. Interviewers were trained and supervised to ensure the quality of the data collected. Most patients were male (78%) and their mean age was 36 years. The most abused drugs in the previous 30 days were: alcohol (82%), cocaine/crack (51%), and marijuana (41%). Overall, there were no major differences between the research centers regarding the ASI-6 severity scores. According to the psychometric analysis, most areas of the ASI demonstrated good reliability, with no statistically significant differences between the ASI-6 Summary Scores for Recent Functioning (SS-Rs) in the test-retest and between interviewers. The Cronbach's alpha for the ASI-6 subscales ranged from 0.64 to 0.95. The correlations between the ASI-6 and the other instrument (ASSIST) scores for the alcohol and drugs area were high (0.72 and 0.89, respectively). There was also a negative statistically significant correlation between the scores of the psychiatric, medical and drugs areas and the scores of the WHOQOL. These initial results suggest a good reliability and validity of the ASI for the Brazilian culture. In addition to the above mentioned aspects, this dissertation also includes additional analyses related to this sample presented in two other scientific papers. The first study (manuscript 4) compared 293 crack users with 126 cocaine users and 324 patients who used alcohol and other drugs. The results demonstrated that the group of crack users had more individuals (25%) with antisocial personality than the group of cocaine users (9%) and the users of other drugs (9%) even after adjusting for age and gender, with a Prevalence Ratio of 2.6 (CI95%: 1.10 to 6.40). Based on the ASI severity scores, crack users also showed significantly more occupational, family and legal problems, mainly in terms of involvement in illegal activities such as drug dealing and other crimes, when compared with other drug users of psychoactive substances. Finally, another study (manuscript 5) used the WHOQOL-BREF to evaluate the quality of life (QoL) of 174 subjects who considered that alcohol was causing serious problems in their lives and led them to seek specialized treatment. When the SS-Rs between the severity tertiles of alcohol problems were compared, there were significant differences (p = 0.002) in the physical and psychological domains, which were lower in the group with more alcohol-related problems. Furthermore, the increased severity of these patients' problems, especially in the medical and psychiatric areas assessed by the ASI-6 SS-Rs, also showed a negative correlation with the WHOQOL-BREF scores. Based on these findings, it is possible to conclude that the ASI-6 may be included in the set of diagnostic instruments of drug users seeking treatment to help assess their problems and improve the approach and intervention strategies related to the specific needs of this population. Indeed, further psychometric assessment studies involving other samples of psychoactive substance users are needed. The results of this dissertation also suggest that crack users should be better evaluated using the ASI- 6 or other instruments dealing with psychiatric symptoms, especially regarding antisocial behaviors, which are probably related to the high rate of legal, family and social problems of this population. In addition, the final findings indicate that alcoholics who seek treatment should have their psychiatric symptoms assessed and that a decrease in the severity of alcohol-related problems may improve the psychological quality of life of these patients.