Cultural adaptation and validation of the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS) in a population of Iranian drug and alcohol addicts

Abstract

This study aimed to culturally adapt and validate the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS) in a population of Iranian drug and alcohol addicts. The statistical population in this cross-sectional, descriptive, scale development study consisted of all the drug and alcohol addicts in Iran. Of these, 518 were selected as participants using convenient sampling. The measurement tools included a demographic checklist, the BIS, and the Distress Tolerance Scale (DTS). The adaptability and stability of the tool were tested using Cronbach’s alpha and ICC to measure its reliability. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were also employed to assess the construct validity of the tool. The clinical cut-off point was determined following the psychiatrist interview (as the gold standard) using the rocking curve (to determine the tool’s sensitivity and specificity) in MedCalc-19.4.0. Moreover, CFA, EFA, and descriptive analysis of participants’ demographics were performed in AMOS-18, SPSS-24, and SPSS-26, respectively. The mean age of participants was 31.9 ± 9.3 years. Drug abuse was the most common type of addiction among the participants (77.8%). Scratching the body, punching a hard object, and self-injection were the most common impulsive actions. The ICC score calculated using the consistency type was 0.78 (95% Cl: 0.45–0.80). A significant inverse relationship was found between BIS and DTS (P = 0.000, r = −0.021). Three factors were extracted from the Varimax rotation of the factors, and two items (5 and 14) were excluded. The results showed a cut-point of 65, with the best balance exhibiting sensitivity values of 76.6 (62.0–87.7) and specificity values of 52.5 (47.9–57.1) for BIS. Items 27, 29, and 30 were excluded based on the correction indices provided for CFA in AMOS. The goodness of fit indices was satisfactory (CMIN/DF = 2.20, GFI = 0.826, AGFI = 0.792, CFI = 0.754, RMSEA = 0.071). Based on the study findings, it can be concluded that the right diagnostic tools can help policymakers, therapists, and other relevant authorities to predict people’s proclivity to abuse drugs.