Alcohol Addiction Self Assessment Tools

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There are various alcohol addiction self assessments tools that are available on the Internet.  Two alcohol addiction self assessment tools will be discussed, namely, the Johns Hopkins University Hospital Alcohol Screening Quiz and the SAMHSA Alcohol Self Test.

These tests, two of the better known alcohol addiction self assessment tools that are available online, will help you determine if you are addicted to alcohol.

The Johns Hopkins University Hospital Alcohol Screening Quiz

The Office of Health Care Programs at Johns Hopkins University Hospital developed the following alcohol screening quiz.  Note:  the responses are either "Yes" or "No."

1. Do you lose time from work due to drinking?
2. Is drinking making your homelife unhappy?
3. Do you drink because you are shy with other people?
4. Is drinking affecting your reputation?
5. Have you ever felt remorse after drinking?
6. Have you had financial difficulties as a result of drinking?
7. Does your drinking make you careless of your family's welfare?
8. Do you turn to inferior companions and environments when drinking?
9. Has your ambition decreased since drinking?
10. Do you crave a drink at a definite time daily?
11. Do you want a drink the next morning?
12. Does drinking cause you to have difficulty in sleeping?
13. Has your efficiency decreased since drinking?
14. Is drinking jeopardizing your job or business?
15. Do you drink to escape from worries or trouble?
16. Do you drink alone?
17. Have you ever had a loss of memory as a result of drinking?
18. Has your physician ever treated you for drinking?
19. Do you drink to build up your self-confidence?
20. Have you ever been to a hospital or institution on account of drinking?

According to the authors of this tool, if you answer 3 or more of the following questions with a "Yes," there is a strong possibility that your drinking patterns are detrimental to your health and that you may be alcohol dependent.  Under these circumstances, the authors of this tool suggest that you should get an evaluation of your drinking behavior by a healthcare professional.

Analysis of the Johns Hopkins Screening Quiz

While self-assessment tools like the Johns Hopkins screening quiz present a number of questions that try to determine if a person has a drinking problem, and if so, to what extent, the scoring system can be flawed. 

For instance, a person could theoretically answer 19 questions with a "No" and answer question number 20 ("Have you ever been to a hospital or institution on account of drinking?") with a "Yes."  Under this scenario, a person's score on this "screening quiz" would be a 19. 

According to the guidelines established by the authors of this self-assessment tool, this person would probably not have a drinking problem.

But logic suggests, however, that a person who has spent a Saturday or Sunday in the hospital due to his or her drinking, probably has a serious drinking problem--even if it is the case that this person did not miss any work and can answer "No" to all of the other questions. 

Therefore, the best advice is this:  anyone who is concerned about his or her drinking behavior should seek more information from and an evaluation by a healthcare professional.

This assessment tool can be found online at the About.com website.

The SAMHSA Alcohol Self Test

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has developed the following ten-question Alcohol Self Test that can be taken online:

1. How often do you have a drink containing alcohol?
2. How many drinks containing alcohol do you have on a typical day when you are drinking?
3. How often do you have six or more drinks on one occasion?
4. How often during the last year have you found that you were not able to stop drinking once you had started?
5. How often during the last year have you failed to do what was normally expected from you because of drinking?
6. How often during the last year have you needed a first drink in the morning to get you going after a heavy drinking session?
7. How often during the last year have you had a feeling of guilt or remorse after drinking?
8. How often during the last year have you been unable to remember what happened the night before because you had been drinking?
9. Have you or has someone else been injured as a result of your drinking?
10. Has a relative or friend or a doctor or other health worker been concerned about your drinking or suggested you cut down?

Unlike the self-assessment tool that was created by Johns Hopkins University Hospital, discussed above, the Alcohol Self Test developed by SAMHSA, does not have Yes and No answers.  Rather, each question has answers such as the following for question #1 "How often do you have a drink containing alcohol?" (never, less than monthly, monthly, weekly, daily or almost daily).  Not only this, but the final assessment takes into consideration the answers for EACH question.  As result, the scoring system is more refined and targeted and therefore more realistic and accurate.

This assessment tool can be found online at the SAMHSA website.

Alcohol Addiction Self Assessment Tools: Conclusion

Two alcohol addiction self assessment tools were discussed, namely, the Johns Hopkins University Hospital Alcohol Screening Quiz and the SAMHSA Alcohol Self Test.  These tests are two of the many alcohol addiction self assessment tools that are available on the Internet.

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