As measured by the AIDS Risk Inventory. The AIDS Risk Inventory (ARI) is a 166 item structured interview that assesses the number and frequency of drug-related and sexual risk behaviors in the preceding 3 months. Calculation of the ARI total score is based on the frequency of occurrence of a given behavior and on the recency of this behavior, with recency being weighted more than a life-time occurrence of the same behavior. Higher values are associated with greater risk of HIV transmission (worse).
There are 10 subscales comprised of between 8 and 24 items. Subscales scores are based on the sum of the individual items and the overall ARI total score is the sum of the subscales.
Scores can range from 0 to 350, although among opioid dependent patients most values are below 100 with means between 50 and 60 depending on characteristics of the patients and treatment status.