Screening for intellectual disability in persons with a substance abuse problem: Exploring the validity of the Hayes Ability Screening Index in a Dutch-speaking sample.
The Dutch HASI quickly spots intellectual disability in adults with substance-use disorders and stays accurate even when clients are intoxicated or on psychiatric meds.
01Research in Context
What this study did
To et al. (2015) tested the Dutch version of the Hayes Ability Screening Index (HASI).
They wanted to know if the five-minute tool still spots intellectual disability in adults who also have drug or alcohol problems.
The team checked whether current drug use, psychiatric meds, or other mental-health diagnoses would throw off the scores.
What they found
The Dutch HASI kept its accuracy even when clients were high, drunk, or on psych meds.
Sensitivity and specificity stayed high, so the tool still flags people who need a full IQ test.
In short, the screen works in real-world addiction clinics.
How this fits with other research
Lancioni et al. (2008) had already shown the HASI works in Norwegian prisons where many inmates use substances.
Ting’s team widened the lens: they proved the Dutch translation also works in outpatient clinics, not just jails.
Cashon et al. (2013) validated the Dutch GAS-ID for anxiety in the same language group; together these papers give BCBAs a small toolbox of quick Dutch screens for clients with ID.
Why it matters
If you serve adults with addiction, you can now add the Dutch HASI to intake.
One five-minute screen tells you who needs simpler language, visual supports, or a full assessment.
No extra training, no long interview, and the client’s current substance use won’t spoil the result.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
There is an increasing interest in screening instruments to detect intellectual disability (ID) in a quick and accurate way in mental health services as well as in the criminal justice system in order to provide appropriate support for people with undetected needs caused by ID. An instrument that has been proven to be useful in both settings is the Hayes Ability Screening Index (HASI). This study assessed the validity of the Dutch version of the HASI in persons with a substance abuse problem residing in mental health services, whether or not mandated to treatment by court order. The HASI was conducted along with the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale III as the criterion for validity to 90 participants. Additionally, the influence of psychiatric disorder and medication use on the HASI result was examined. A significant positive relationship was found between the two instruments, demonstrating convergent validity. Using a Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, the discriminative ability of the HASI with a cut-off score of 85 was found to be adequate, yielding in a good balance between sensitivity and specificity. The HASI was not distorted by the presence of the substance abuse problem or other psychiatric illnesses and medication did not influence the HASI scores in this study. These findings indicate that the HASI provides a time-efficient and resource-conscious way to detect ID in persons with a substance problem, thus addressing a critical need in mental health settings.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2015 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2014.10.046