Do you think you may be alcohol dependent or an alcoholic? These diagnostic tests have been developed to help you determine if you may have a drinking problem.
Alcohol and drug use can progress into abuse and even addition so insidiously that sometimes people do not realize that their drinking or drugging has become a real problem for them and those around them.
Millions of people are affected by the excessive drinking of someone close. The following questions are designed to help you decide whether or not you need Al-Anon.
If someone close to you has or has had a drinking problem, the following questions, developed by Al-Anon Family Groups, may help you determine if Al-Anon is for you.
Often well-meaning efforts to help someone with an alcohol or drug problem actually empower them continue their destructive behavior.
Clinical depression can strike people of all ages, genders and walks of life, causing them to lose motivation, energy and the pleasure of everyday life. Depression many times goes untreated because people do not recognize its symptoms.
Although there are hundreds of alcohol screening tests available, including some elaborate ones with up to 100 questions, short screening tests with only a few questions have been developed to encourage diagnosis in primary and emergency health-care situations.
Developed in 1971, the Michigan Alcohol Screening Test (MAST) is one of the oldest and most accurate alcohol screening tests available, effective in identifying dependent drinkers with up to 98 percent accuracy.
The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) is used to detect alcohol problems experienced in the last year. It is one of the most accurate alcohol screening test available, rated 94 percent effective in detecting hazardous or harmful drinking.
The five-shot questionnaire is another short, self-administered test, designed to be used in busy primary healthcare settings to recognize heavy alcohol drinking in its early phase.
The TWEAK alcohol screening test is a short, five-question test which was originally designed to screen pregnant women for harmful drinking habits.
The RAPS4 alcohol screening test is a four-question quiz designed for busy clinical healthcare offices that has been shown to be effective in detecting alcohol dependence in the past 12 months.
The FAST alcohol screening test was developed specifically to be used in busy medical offices and emergency rooms to screen patients for hazardous drinking, although it has also been used in the general population.
Physicians and healthcare providers have a new tool which is twice as likely to detect heavy drinking in patients compared to the usual liver enzyme test.
Because screening and brief intervention has been shown to be very effective, especially in healthcare settings, in reducing or eliminating harmful drinking, healthcare providers are being encouraged nationwide to increase the practice.
Answers to frequently asked questions from the About.com Alcoholism / Substance Abuse site.
If you consume alcoholic beverages, it's important to know whether your drinking patterns are safe, risky or harmful. This site can help you find out.
Are you affected by someone else's drinking? Here are 20 questions that may help you determine if Al-Anon could benefit you.
