Assessment of the Scientific Validity, Reliability and Normalization of APS, AAS and MAC-R Tests for Spotting Vulnerable Individuals Exposed to Drug Abuse Among the Male High School Students in the City of Tehran

Bearing in mind the growing trend of drug abuse in societies, the application of appropriate tools for identifying drug abusers and those who are exposed to the high risk of drug abuse is one of the basic requirements of the current Iranian society. At the moment, the only way for identifying drug addicts is the use of morphine- detecting kits that examine the person’s urine and is based on a medical model. It only indicates the existence of morphine in urine and cannot be relied upon as a certain method for detecting the person’s addiction. Within this framework, it seems necessary to use psychological tests for identifying individuals that are exposed to the risk of drug abuse. Based on this necessity and with the aim of normalization and preparation of three sub-scales of addiction acknowledgement scale (AAS), addiction potential (APS) and Mac Andrew Alcoholism Scale Revised (MAC.R) from the Minnesota Multi-Phasic Personality Inventory a questionnaire is prepared comprising 90 questions. The plan was conducted among 1000 male high school students of Tehran using the random sample-taking from 4 districts (7,5,3,18) as well as 200 volunteers who seek to give up addiction. The following questions were raised: 1. Does the addiction test for identifying students exposed to addiction risk enjoy reliability? 2. Does the AAS scale aimed at identifying students that suffer from drug abuse enjoy reliability? and indirect observations. The statistical grouping of the research includes the admitted students and eventually 483 female and 53 male students in seven provinces constituted the statistical samples of the study. It was concluded that the separation plan is facing numerous problems at the current juncture. The relevant procedures and the manner of inter-organizational cooperation are not sufficient and the admission process has to undergo changes. Welfare facilities at the centers are not sufficient and keeping the students at the dorms for a long time will bring about many problems for them. Hence, the existence of a strong observation system as well as social workers are among the requisites for keeping up the implementation of the plan. Moreover, attention must be paid to other substitute methods so that the student would be able to study in his normal living environment and in this way reduce possible risks.