Questions:
(1) frequency of drinking alcohol
(2) number of drinks when drinking
(3) annoyance at criticism
(4) feelings of guilt
(5) drink on rising
total score =
= SUM(points for all 5 questions)
Interpretation:
• minimum score: 0
• maximum score: 7
• A score >= 4 is seen in male alcoholics.
Performance:
• A score of 3.0 was 77% sensitive and 83% specific for moderate or heavy drinking. The overall accuracy was 83%.
• A score of 4.0 was 56% sensitive and 94% specific. The overall accuracy was 90%.
• A score of 5.0 was 29% sensitive but 98% specific. The overall accuracy was 90%.
Limitations:
• As with other screening questionnaires, this tends to be sensitive. A further evaluation is needed to determine if an abuse problem is present.
• I would think that a drink first thing in the morning or consuming 10 drinks or more would carry more weight.
• Feeling bad or guilty is somewhat ambiguous, since this might cover feelings ranging from mild annoyance to deep remorse. Having an intermediate level valued at 0.5 might make this less subject to over weighting.
