Alcohol Screening Tests Ideal for Healthcare Settings

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Buddy T
Buddy T
Buddy T is an anonymous writer and founding member of the Online Al-Anon Outreach Committee with decades of experience writing about alcoholism.
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Updated on September 27, 2020
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 by
Adah Chung
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An alcohol screening test helps determine if you abuse alcohol or have alcohol use disorder. An emergency room might use a short test that makes a determination based on the first question, while a mental health professional has time to administer a longer test with more questions.

The reliability of shorter tests may not be as high as the longer ones. After the initial diagnosis, a longer test helps determine if your case of alcohol use disorder is mild, moderate, or severe.

The CAGE Test

One of the oldest and most popular screening tools for alcohol abuse is the CAGE test, which is a short, four-question test that diagnoses alcohol problems over a lifetime.

CAGE Test

  • C - Have you ever felt you should cut down on your drinking?
  • A - Have people annoyed you by criticizing your drinking?
  • G - Have you ever felt bad or guilty about your drinking?
  • E - Have you ever had a drink first thing in the morning ("eye-opener") to steady your nerves or to get rid of a hangover?

Two "yes" answers indicates a problem with alcohol.

The disadvantages of the CAGE test is it's not very accurate for older people, white women, and African- and Mexican-Americans.

The T-ACE Test

The T-ACE test has four questions, including three from the CAGE test, but has proven more accurate in diagnosing alcohol problems in both men and women.

T-ACE Test

  • T - Does it take more than three drinks to make you feel high?
  • A - Have you ever been annoyed by people's criticism of your drinking?
  • C - Are you trying to cut down on drinking?
  • E - Have you ever used alcohol as an "eye opener" in the morning (having a drink when you wake up to stave off a hangover, for example?).

Two "yes" answers indicates possible alcohol abuse or dependence.

The AUDIT Test

One of the most accurate tests is the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT). It's accurate up to 94% of the time across ethnic and gender groups.

It has 10 multiple choice questions scored on a point system. A score over eight indicates an alcohol problem.

The disadvantage is that it takes longer to administer and is more difficult to score than the shorter tests.

The RAPS4 Test

The Rapid Alcohol Problems Screen Test (RAPS) asks questions similar to the CAGE test, but from a different perspective. One "yes" answer indicates a possible alcohol abuse problem. The results are accurate across gender and ethnic groups.

The MAST Test

The Michigan Alcohol Screening Test (MAST) effectively diagnoses adults and adolescents. It has 22 yes or no questions, with six positive responses indicating a drinking problem.

The disadvantage is the length and time required to score it. 

The FAST Test

The FAST test is a four-question quiz designed specifically for patients in urgent care or emergency room situations. The test is easy to score, but only detects 90% of alcohol problems detected by the AUDIT test.

Paddington Alcohol Test

The Paddington Alcohol Test (PAT) is for patients getting treatment for falls and accidents in the emergency room. This three-questions test is easy to score.

The disadvantage is that it asks direct questions about how much alcohol the patient consumes, which patients tend to minimize or deny.

The SAAST Test

The Self-Administered Alcoholism Screening Test (SAAST) is a 35-question test that asks questions about the patient's loss of control, job performance, drinking consequences, and family history of alcoholism.

One major advantage is that there is a version of the test a loved one can fill out.

9 Sources
Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

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  2. Volk RJ, Cantor SB, Steinbauer JR, Cass AR. Item bias in the CAGE screening test for alcohol use disorders. J Gen Intern Med. 1997;12(12):763-769. doi:10.1046/j.1525-1497.1997.07162.x

  3. Russell M, Martier SS, Sokol RJ, Mudar P, Jacobson S, Jacobson J. Detecting risk drinking during pregnancy: a comparison of four screening questionnaires. Am J Public Health. 1996;86(10):1435-1439. doi:10.2105/ajph.86.10.1435

  4. Frank D, DeBenedetti AF, Volk RJ, Williams EC, Kivlahan DR, Bradley KA. Effectiveness of the AUDIT-C as a Screening Test for Alcohol Misuse in Three Race/Ethnic Groups. J Gen Intern Med. 2008;23(6):781-787. doi:10.1007/s11606-008-0594-0

  5. Cherpitel CJ. A brief screening instrument for problem drinking in the emergency room: the RAPS4. Rapid Alcohol Problems Screen. J Stud Alcohol. 2000;61(3):447-449. doi:10.15288/jsa.2000.61.447

  6. Kagan Weston MJ, Johnstone B. Michigan Alcoholism Screen Test. In: Kreutzer JS, DeLuca J, Caplan B, eds. Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology. New York: Springer, New York; 2011. doi:10.1007/978-0-387-79948-3_1995

  7. Hodgson R, Alwyn T, John B, Thom B, Smith A. The FAST alcohol screening test. Alcohol Alcohol. 2002;37(1):61-66. doi:10.1093/alcalc/37.1.61

  8. Patton R, Hilton C, Crawford MJ, Touquet R. The Paddington Alcohol Test: A Short Report. Alcohol Alcohol. 2004;39(3):266-268. doi:10.1093/alcalc/agh049

  9. Pristach CA, Smith CM, Perkins C. Reliability of the Self-Administered Alcoholism Screening Test (SAAST) in Psychiatric Inpatients. J Addict Dis. 1993;12(4):77-88. doi:10.1300/J069v12n04_06

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